Front / Recto

  • Title Hands on Wall Graffiti (Documents of the Street, Phantastic)
  • Negative Date 1939
  • Print Date 1939–55
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 9/16 × 7 3/16" (24.3 × 18.2 cm)
    Mount 17 15/16 x 14" (45.6 x 35.5 cm)
  • Place Taken Oakland
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. The Family of Man Fund
  • MoMA Accession Number 1679.2001
  • Copyright ©1998 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type Mount (original)
  • Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on mount recto, bottom right: John Gutmann. Inscribed in pencil on mount recto, bottom left: 15. Inscribed in pencil on mount recto, bottom right: JG.542.Y. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, top left: X. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, top left: N.C.C. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, top right: 412.5. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, bottom left: Documents of the Street,/Phantastic. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, bottom right: JG.542.Y.
  • Provenance The artist, San Francisco; consigned to Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, August 9, 1985 [1]; purchased by Thomas Walther, October 8, 1996 [2]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 7; Amy Whiteside (Fraenkel Gallery), letter to Audrey Sands, October 25, 2013; and Fraenkel Gallery registration no. JG.542.Y inscribed on mount verso.
    [2] Fraenkel Gallery invoice no. 2244. October 8, 1996.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Mount
    Retouching (additive)
    Enlargement
  • PTM
    Detail view of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Micro-raking
    Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Paper Material

  • Format Unknown
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso no data
  • Fiber Analysis No fiber data available
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

    The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):

    • Recto: Al, P, S, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Mount: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ba, Pb

    The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Related People

For best results, please enable JavaScript.