Front / Recto

  • Title Georgia O'Keeffe: A Portrait
  • Negative Date 1918
  • Print Date 1918
  • Medium Palladium print
  • Dimensions Image 9 5/16 × 7 3/8" (23.6 × 18.7 cm)
    Sheet 9 13/16 × 7 15/16" (25 × 20.1 cm)
    Mount 20 × 14 15/16" (50.8 × 38 cm)
  • Place Taken New York
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Grace M. Mayer Fund
  • MoMA Accession Number 1871.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Estate of Alfred Stieglitz / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type Mount (original)
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on mount recto, bottom left: Georgia O'Keeffe: A Portrait/1918/Palladium/F 149/Treated by Steichen–6/50. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: $. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: 1–OK35A/Small. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: M. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso, bottom left: 7, F 149, OK 35A.
  • Provenance The artist, New York; to Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), 1946 [1]; to the estate of Georgia O'Keeffe, Santa Fe, 1986 [2]; to Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, 1993 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, July 22, 1993 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 22.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Ibid.
    [4] Pace/MacGill Gallery invoice no. 7106, July 22, 1993

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing etching. The area of detail is 14.5 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Mount
    Contact print
    Retouching (reductive)
    Toning
  • 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 Palladium print
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a palladium 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, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Br, Pd, Hg, Pb
    • Mount: Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zn, Br

    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, Ca, Ti, Cr, Br, Pd, Hg
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Mn, Fe, Zn, Br, Pb, Hg

In Context

Related Images

Alfred Stieglitz. Georgia O’Keeffe. 1918. Palladium print, 9 5/8 x 7 5/8" (24.6 x 19.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Alfred Stieglitz Collection. Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe. © 2014 Estate of Alfred Stieglitz/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Alfred Stieglitz. Georgia O'Keeffe—Torso. 1921. Platinum print, 9 3/8 x 7 1/2" (23.8 x 19.1 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Given anonymously. © 2014 Estate of Alfred Stieglitz/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Alfred Stieglitz. Georgia O’Keeffe: A Portrait. 1918. Palladium print. Image: 9 5/16 × 7 3/8" (23.6 × 18.7 cm); sheet: 9 13/16 × 7 15/16" (25 × 20.1 cm); mount: 20 × 14 15/16" (50.8 × 38 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Thomas Walther Collection. Grace M. Mayer Fund. © 2014 Estate of Alfred Stieglitz/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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