Front / Recto

  • Title Self-Portrait with Studio Camera
  • Negative Date c. 1917
  • Print Date c. 1917
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 13 1/2 × 10 5/8" (34.3 × 27 cm)
  • Place Taken New York
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Sandro Mayer, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1868.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
  • Provenance The artist, New York; by inheritance to the artist’s wife, Joanna Steichen (1933–2010), New York, 1973 [1]; to Bobbi Carrey, Boston, 1983 [2]; to Gallery Click, New York, 1983 [3]; sold through Brent Sikkema, New York, to David La Placa, New York, 1993 [4]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1997 [5]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 21.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Ibid.
    [4] Ibid.
    [5] Ibid

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Coating
    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
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso no data
  • Fiber Analysis No fiber data available
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Baryta-less 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, Ca, Cr, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, S, Ca, Cr, 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, S, Ca, Cr, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Cr, Zn, Sr, Ag

In Context

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