Credits and Acknowledgments
This project was generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Credits: Online Edition
National Gallery of Art (current and former staff)
Kaywin Feldman, director
Earl A. Powell III, director emeritus
Franklin Kelly, deputy director and chief curator
Curatorial, American and British Paintings
Nancy Anderson, Charles Brock
Curatorial, Photographs
Andrea Coffman, Katie Cornell, Anne Davis, Sarah Greenough, Mark Levitch, Amanda Summerlin, Diane Waggoner
Deputy Director
Nancy Deiss, Elizabeth Pochter, Kerry Wallin
Development
Kate Conrad, Patricia Donovan, Christine Myers
Imaging and Visual Services
Debbie Adenan, Joseph Campbell, Rebecca Clews, Peter Dueker, Lorene Emerson, Rebecca Gates, Katherine Mayo, Alan Newman, Barbara Wood, Tricia Zigmund
Office of the Registrar
Elizabeth Concha, Sue Finkel, Michelle Fondas
Photograph Conservation
Courtney Helion, Constance McCabe, Ronel Namde, Merv Richard, Sarah S. Wagner
Publishing Office
Jaime Lowe, Melanie Lukas, Judy Metro, Wendy Schleicher, Mariah Shay, Lisa Shea, Emiko K. Usui, Chris Vogel, Ingrid Yeung, Emily Zoss
Scientific Research
Barbara Berrie, Joan M. Walker
Secretary and General Counsel
Nancy Breuer, Lakshmi Mohandas, Julian Saenz, Lauren Wheeler
Technology Solutions
Charles Alers, David Beaudet, Eli Bhattacharyya, Kate Blackwell, Lucy Patterson, Cindy Peng, Linda Stone, Laszlo Zeke
Website
Carolyn Campbell, Peter Dueker, John Gordy, Alan Manton, G. Memo Saenz
Beyond the Gallery
Kerry Folan (proofreader)
Magda Nakassis (copyeditor)
Amanda Sparrow (proofreader)
Acknowledgments: Online Edition
In 2014, when we began work to put our 2002 publication Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set online, we assumed that because most of the research had been done, our task would be relatively simple. Five years later, we have realized ever more keenly both the richness and complexity of the Key Set of photographs by Alfred Stieglitz and the opportunities and challenges presented by digital technology. Throughout our work on this project, our primary goal has been to marry the insights provided in the printed publication with robust search capabilities and advanced image-viewing tools to introduce new audiences around the world to the importance and beauty of Stieglitz’s art.
Numerous individuals both within the National Gallery of Art and around the world greatly assisted us with this endeavor, giving freely and generously of their time and expertise. I would first like to extend our deepest thanks to Juan Hamilton, whom Georgia O’Keeffe appointed as steward of the Key Set at the Gallery in 1980. In the years since, he has attentively carried out his duties overseeing the exhibition and reproduction of these photographs with the insight and attention to detail that O’Keeffe herself would have demanded. We are grateful that he recognizes the importance of putting the Key Set online to further knowledge about Stieglitz’s art. I would also like to acknowledge the critical aid we received from the Henry Luce Foundation and wish especially to thank Dr. Teresa A. Carbone for her support of the project.
From the inception of this project we received unqualified assistance from our colleagues at the Gallery. It has truly been a team effort that has drawn on the talents and dedicated commitment of numerous departments throughout the museum. I would especially like to thank our director emeritus, Earl A. Powell III, and our current director, Kaywin Feldman, along with our deputy director and chief curator, Franklin Kelly, for their willingness to commit Gallery resources to its completion over several years. I would also like to acknowledge the essential help we received from our previous editor in chief, Judy Metro, and our current publisher and editor in chief, Emiko K. Usui, as well as from the head of the Gallery’s digital imaging services, Peter Dueker. They, too, have been unfailingly supportive and have given astute guidance throughout the project.
This Online Edition of the Key Set would never have been realized without the steadfast dedication and superb work of three individuals at the Gallery. Foremost among them is Mark Levitch, Stieglitz online project coordinator, who has shepherded the project through many twists and turns for the last five years. With exceptional insight, stellar research and organizational skills, and admirable thoroughness, he has ensured that all of the content from the original edition has been checked and, where necessary, updated, and he has worked with numerous departments throughout the museum to make certain that the digital edition honors the contributions of the printed book. Emily Zoss, managing editor for the permanent collection, also deserves special commendation. She has spent countless hours translating our vision for the Key Set into a format that was compatible with the Gallery’s Online Editions series. An accomplished manager who oversaw almost every aspect of this project, she supervised workflow, budget, editorial, and production tasks, keeping everyone in several different departments on task and on schedule. John Gordy, responsible for special projects for the Gallery website, merits special thanks. A great problem solver, he built many of the pages and provided essential insights in conversations surrounding the technical development of the project.
As always, our colleagues within the department of photographs provided vital assistance with this project. We thank in particular Amanda Summerlin, formerly Stieglitz online project cataloguer and now exhibition associate, who was integral to discussions about the presentation of the Key Set and who undertook the herculean task of updating the location of Stieglitz photographs in other collections with diligence and attention to detail, and Katie Cornell, photographs cataloguer, who played a crucial role in the project’s final stages. In addition, we would like to thank Andrea Coffman, collection management associate; Anne Davis, curatorial coordinator; and Diane Waggoner, curator of nineteenth-century photographs, for their invaluable help over the last several years.
Our colleagues in the division of imaging and visual services, led by Alan Newman, also deserve special recognition. We would especially like to thank Tricia Zigmund, who photographed all the works in the Key Set, along with Debbie Adenan, Joseph Campbell, Rebecca Clews, Lorene Emerson, Becky Gates, Kate Mayo, and Barbara Wood. We would also like to recognize the critical contributions to the project on the part of the Gallery’s website team, including Carolyn Campbell, Alan Manton, and Memo Saenz, and the division of technology solutions, including Linda Stone, chief information officer, and Kate Blackwell, Charles Alers, Dave Beaudet, Eli Bhattacharyya, and Laszlo Zeke. Special thanks are due to Ingrid Yeung, who carried out her responsibilities for web production and content entry with precision, efficiency, and sharp attention to detail. The success of this digital edition of the Key Set is due in no small part to their dedication to excellence.
As we worked to update the print edition, we drew heavily on the knowledge of our exceptional photograph conservation department. In recent years they have carefully investigated the Key Set, paying particular attention to Stieglitz’s platinum and palladium prints. Their expertise informs our understanding of these photographs, just as it will guide our handling of them in the future. We extend our deepest thanks to Constance McCabe, head of photograph conservation, along with her colleagues Sarah S. Wagner, Ronel Namde, Courtney Helion, and Joan M. Walker, Mellon photograph scientist.
Numerous other colleagues throughout the museum deserve special commendation. We would especially like to thank Chris Vogel and Lisa Shea in the publishing office; Elizabeth Pochter and Kerry Wallin in the deputy director’s office; Charles Brock in the department of American and British paintings; Patty Donovan and Kate Conrad in the development office; Elizabeth Concha and Sue Finkel in the office of the registrar; and Lakshmi Mohandas and Julian Saenz in our general counsel’s office. We also thank Kerry Folan, Magda Nakassis, and Amanda Sparrow for their contributions as copyeditors and proofreaders.
To determine the number of prints Stieglitz made of any one photograph and to assist with titling and dating, we reached out to colleagues at all of the museums that received gifts from O’Keeffe and the Alfred Stieglitz Estate, as well as others at museums around the world that now own Stieglitz photographs. We extend our deepest thanks to them for their careful review of their collections and their willingness to answer often repeated questions from us with both the utmost professionalism and good cheer. In addition, as we searched for other Stieglitz photographs in private collections, we contacted numerous galleries, auction houses, and collectors around the world who graciously shared information with us. We wish to thank all of them for their assistance in helping us to ensure that the digital edition of Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set is as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
Finally, on behalf of all the key contributors who have been deeply involved with this project for many years, I wish to extend our most heartfelt thanks to our families. As always, we would not have been able to dedicate ourselves to the successful completion of this project without their steadfast support.
Sarah Greenough
2019
Acknowledgments: Print Edition
Remembering the many people who have helped me with my work on Stieglitz, I realize ever more keenly how many have profoundly influenced my life. I began to study Stieglitz’s photographs at the University of New Mexico as a graduate student of Beaumont Newhall. With characteristic generosity, he shared the extensive research he and his wife Nancy had compiled over many years and inspired me with both his scholarship and passion for his profession. In 1978, while working on my dissertation, I was fortunate to receive a fellowship from the National Gallery of Art that allowed me to lay the foundation for cataloguing the photographs in the Key Set. Through this association, I met Georgia O’Keeffe and Juan Hamilton, and together we embarked on planning the Gallery’s 1983 exhibition and its accompanying book, Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs & Writings. I learned an exceptional amount from both of them, not only about Stieglitz’s art and life but also about his unwavering pursuit of excellence. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to them for their friendship and support and, more recently, to Mr. Hamilton for his advice and counsel in all aspects of the Alfred Stieglitz Project.
The Stieglitz project began in 1997 and includes not only the present book but also a new edition of Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs & Writings; a series of seven online tours, Alfred Stieglitz: New Perspectives; and an exhibition, Alfred Stieglitz: Known and Unknown. I wish to thank Earl A. Powell III, director, and Alan Shestack, deputy director, for their strong support of this and other Gallery projects in the history of photography. Joseph Krakora, executive officer, external and international affairs, was instrumental in moving the project, and especially this book, beyond the conceptual stages, and I am deeply indebted for his whole-hearted support. I also want to thank Daniel A. Carp, chairman and chief executive officer, Eastman Kodak Company, Michael More, former director of international public relations, and Karen M. Kozak, manager, alliance marketing, whose generous support has enabled us to foster a greater understanding of this important American photographer.
The idea of publishing an illustrated catalogue of the Key Set was conceived in the early 1980s during conversations with Frances Smyth, editor-in-chief, and Jacquelyn Sheehan, former assistant curator in the department of graphic arts. For several years Ms. Smyth enthusiastically lent her support to the concept, and once the decision was made to proceed she became one of the project’s principal architects. Her successor, Judy Metro, has continued to guide these efforts with great care and commitment and worked with our co-publisher Abrams to ensure that this book reaches the widest possible audience. Mary Yakush, senior editor and project manager, has superbly coordinated the efforts and ideas of many people. Her clear vision of the nature and function of this publication, and her keen editorial oversight, are evident on every page of this book. Chris Vogel, production manager, applied his command of information and imaging systems to move large quantities of material among Washington, London, and Stuttgart, and served as principal liaison with our printer.
This book and the project as a whole are the result of the dedicated commitment and unfailing support of many members of the department of photographs, most especially that of Janet Blyberg, research assistant. For five years she has applied her stellar organizational skills to this endeavor, completing each task with exceptional thoroughness: among numerous other jobs, she set up a database and entered the extensive amount of information that had been compiled on Stieglitz’s photographs; established a protocol and scanned all the photographs; worked closely with Gallery staff to develop each of the online tours; supervised numerous interns; and greatly assisted me in establishing the dates of many of Stieglitz’s photographs. Julia Thompson deserves a special note of thanks. Well before the project began, she devoted considerable time to refining the organization of the curatorial files on Stieglitz’s photographs, and in the years since she assiduously studied his printing techniques and established a technical chronology, which is published here. April Watson, curatorial and research assistant, enriched the project in many ways, most notably through her research and compilation of the extensive bibliography and the comparative illustrations. Charles Brock, assistant curator, lent his considerable knowledge of Stieglitz’s relationships with early twentieth-century American and European artists. Several interns have also made substantial contributions, including Brett Abbott, Diane Dillon, Laura Groves, Nora Lawrence, Mackenzie Massman, Lynn Matheny, and Nathalie Ryan. In Germany and Austria, Miriam Paeslack tracked down many obscure publications and contributed an essay to an online tour.
The conservation department was also involved in this project from its inception. To Constance McCabe, senior photograph conservator, I am especially grateful. Among her many contributions, she thoroughly assessed the condition of all the photographs in the Key Set; supervised the conservation of the six albums in the collection; drafted the glossary published here; and expanded our understanding of Stieglitz’s skills as a photographic printmaker. Others in this department who deserve thanks include Terry Boone, Lisha Deming Glinsman, Christopher Maines, Andrew Robb, Sarah Wagner, and Judith Walsh.
At every turn Gallery staff have aided and supported my work on the Stieglitz project. In the corporate relations department, the work of Sandy Masur, her successor, Chris Myers, and Jeanette Beers has been key. In the office of the secretary-general counsel Elizabeth Croog and Nancy Breuer have provided sage advice. For designing and implementing the series of online tours, Alfred Stieglitz: New Perspectives, thanks are owed to Phyllis Hecht, Guillermo Saenz, and Neal Johnson. For the exhibition Alfred Stieglitz: Known and Unknown I gratefully acknowledge the creation and execution of the elegant design by Mark Leithauser, Gordon Anson, John Olson, Lisa Farrell, and Mari Forsell in the department of design and installation; D. Dodge Thompson, Susan Arensberg, and Jennifer Cipriano in the exhibitions department; Hugh Phibbs, Virginia Ritchie, and Jamie Stout in the department of loans and exhibition conservation; and Sally Freitag, Lauren Mellon, Melissa Stegeman, Theresa Beall, and David Smith in the registrar’s office. Deborah Ziska and Lisa Knapp of the information office skillfully handled the publicity for the entire project. In addition, Faya Causey, Ruth Fine, Carol Kelley, Andrew Robison, and Neal Turtell have all provided substantial assistance in myriad ways, as have Deborah Adenan, David Applegate, Judith Brodie, Ted Dalziel, Lamia Doumato, Lorene Emerson, Bob Grove, Thomas McGill, Jr., Christina Moore, Carlotta Owens, Charlie Ritchie, and Mariah Shay.
In 1997 we asked Robert L. Hennessey to advise us on how best to harness digital technology to make the reproductions for this book. He researched the various systems available to identify one that would allow us faithfully and consistently to convey an understanding of Stieglitz’s original photographs; painstakingly made more than 1,600 separations; and unstintingly collaborated with Gallery staff and our printer, Cantz, to achieve our goal. We are deeply indebted to Derek Birdsall for his inimitable ability to achieve a graceful arrangement of images and type in his design for Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set—so perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the photographs—and to Shirley and Elsa Birdsall for their exquisite typography and for their flexibility in considering our many suggestions and special requests. Jane Havell brought her seasoned editorial eye to bear on the manuscript, and authoritatively and quickly resolved matters of style. Alex Trotter trawled more than one thousand pages to create the index, and Kathy Grove made it possible to show the subtle beauty of the Autochromes to best advantage. I am also grateful to Barbara Burn for her steadfast commitment to this publication.
Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set naturally builds on the work of many scholars who have previously studied Stieglitz’s multi-faceted contribution to American art. For generously sharing their time and expertise, I would especially like to thank Doris Bry, William Innes Homer, Sue Davidson Lowe, Barbara Lynes, Dorothy Norman, Herbert Seligmann, and Richard Whelan. On several occasions throughout our work on Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set, Peter C. Bunnell advised us on the scope, content, and organization of this book. Philip Conisbee and Andrew Szegedy-Maszak provided perceptive critical insights. At The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation, Raymond R. Krueger, Agapita Judy Lopez, and Elizabeth Glassman deserve special recognition for their efforts in donating two photographs listed as part of the Key Set but missing at the time of Miss O’Keeffe’s original gift.
As we compiled information on Stieglitz’s photographs, staff at the museums that received gifts from the Stieglitz Estate were immensely helpful, answering numerous questions and granting access to their photographs and their archival records. Special thanks are owed to David Travis and Kristen Nagel Merrill, The Art Institute of Chicago; Opal Baker and Kevin Grogan, The Carl Van Vechten Gallery of Fine Arts, Fisk University, Nashville; Therese Mulligan, Del Zogg, Andy Eskind, and Michael Yates, George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester; Verna Curtis, Library of Congress, Washington; Maria Morris Hambourg, Malcolm Daniel, Laura Muir, and Nora Kennedy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Clifford Ackley and Anne Havinga, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Peter Galassi, Sarah Hermanson Meister, and Virginia Dodier, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Rei Masuda, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Innis Howe Shoemaker, Martha Chahroudi, Katherine Ware, and Laura Groves, Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Sandra Phillips, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Patricia Willis and the staff at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, deserve a special note of thanks for sharing information, over the course of many years, on the Stieglitz photographs in their collection, and for granting us permission to quote from Stieglitz’s letters
Other museums and collections around the world significantly aided our research. I thank Jim Meehan, The Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York; Bodo von Dewitz and Ulrich Tillmann, Agfa Foto Historama, Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Barbara McCandless and John Rohrbach, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Anthony Montoya, Aperture Foundation; Jenny Flemming, The Baltimore Museum of Art; Barbara Millstein, Brooklyn Museum of Art; Cincinnati Art Museum; Tom Hinson, Cleveland Museum of Art; Ulrich Pohlmann, Fotomuseum, Münchner Stadtmuseum; Monika Faber and Astrid Lechner, Fotosammlung Albertina, Vienna; Weston Naef and Julian Cox, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Pierre Apraxine and Maria Umali, Gilman Paper Company Collection, New York; Keith Davis, The Hallmark Art Collection, Kansas City; Tom Southall, High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Tom Beck, Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Christine Kühn, Kunstbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin; Joel Smith and Karen Casey Hines, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie; Robert Sobieszek, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Tom Bamberger, Milwaukee Art Museum; Ted Hartwell and Christian Peterson, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Françoise Heilbrun, Musée d’Orsay, Paris; Claudia Gabriele Philipp, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Anne Tucker, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Diane Block and Steve Yates, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico; Gael Newton and Anne O’Hehir, National Gallery of Art, Canberra, Australia; Ann Thomas and Johanna Mizgala, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Mary Panzer and Ann Shumard, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Michelle Delaney and Shannon Perich, Photographic History Collection, Smithsonian Institution; Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, Saint Louis Art Museum; Gladys Tutt and Dale Miller, Smithsonian Institution Libraries; Merry Foresta, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Michiko Kasahara, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; Mark Haworth-Booth and Martin Barnes, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Patricia McDonnell, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Rachel Tassone, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
As we searched for other Stieglitz photographs in private collections, numerous individuals generously shared information on their holdings or those of others known to them. I wish to thank Henry Buhl, Warren and Margot Coville, Alf Cromwell, George Dalsheimer, Larry N. Deutsch, Hank DeVito, Carla Emil, Ralph Esmerian, Robert Fisher, Betsy Frampton, Larry Frankel, Charlie Friedlander, Arthur and Carol Goldberg, Judith Gutman, Manfred Heiting, Diana Heller, Sir Elton John, Franklin Kolodny, Thomas Lee and Ann Tenenbaum, Noel and Hariette Levine, Edward Lenkin, Lynn Lilienthal, Reva and David Logan, Ellen Lowe, Betsy McManus, Thomas and Diann Mann, Linda Mason, Timothy Masters, Richard and Ronay Menschel, Harvey S. Shipley Miller and Randall J. Plummer, David P. Mixer, Dexter and Susan Paine, James K. Patterson, Frank Prosser, Paul and Prentice Sack, Richard and Ellen Sandor, William Schubart, Richard and Judith Smooke, Gary Sokol, Jerry and Emily Spiegel, Joanna Steichen, Howard Stein, George Tice, Leonard Vernon, Thomas Walther, Joy Weber, Stephen White, and Ursula Moore Works. Dealers were also especially helpful, sharing information about their holdings and forwarding letters to collectors whom they knew owned Stieglitz’s photographs. In particular, I thank Sandra Berler, Denise Bethel, Jane Corkin, James Danzinger, Gary Edwards, Carol Ehlers, Kathleen Ewing, Kaspar Fleischmann, Jeffrey Fraenkel, Paul Hertzmann, Vivian Horan, Edwynn Houk, Jan Kesner, Rudolf Kicken, Robert Klein, Alan Klotz, Robert Koch, Hans P. Kraus, Mack Lee, Janet Lehr, Peter MacGill, Robert Mann, Alex Novak, Gerald Peters, David Scheinbaum and Janet Russek, Andrew Smith, Joe Tartt, Joan Washburn, Rick Wester, Maggie Weston, Stanley Wise, and Virginia Zabriskie.
Finally, I want to thank my daughter, Sophia Cikovsky, for her patience and good humor while I worked on this undertaking, and my husband, Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., for his support and extensive, discerning advice at critical points in the completion of the manuscript.
Sarah Greenough
2002