Front / Recto

  • Title Gertrude Lawrence
  • Negative Date 1928
  • Print Date 1928–35
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 7/16 × 7 9/16" (24 × 19.2 cm)
    Sheet 9 15/16 × 7 15/16" (25.3 × 20.2 cm)
  • Place Taken New York
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Edward Steichen Estate and gift of Mrs. Flora S. Straus, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1869.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in black ink on sheet recto, top: VOGUE FASHION SEPT 11 1928 No. 6. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top: 202. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: Gertrude Lawrence/1928/for Vanity Fair/S-9 [S-9 is crossed out]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top right: 202. Inscribed in pencil across sheet verso, center: 1-7-7 x. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, bottom center: PLEASE RETURN TO THE/PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT/The Museum of Modern Art/11 West 53rd St. New York.
  • Provenance The artist, New York; by inheritance to Joanna Steichen (1933–2010), New York, 1973 [1]; to James Danziger Gallery, New York, 1997–98 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, February 17, 1998 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 21.
    [2] Ibid.; and James Danziger, e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, May 1, 2014.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 21; MacGill/Walther 2000(2), p. 14; and James Danziger Gallery invoice no. 2360, February 17, 1998.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Contact print
    Retouching (reductive)
  • PTM
    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 Imperial
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.29
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso no data
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 98%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 2%
  • 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, S, Cl, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ba

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

In Context

Historical Publications

  • Vanity Fair 33, no. 9 (September 1929): 71 (as Gertrude Lawrence in a Comedy of Manners).

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