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Edward Steichen
American, born Luxembourg, 1879–1973
The Pool, 1899
Platinum print
21.3 x 16.1 cm (image) 43.2 x 34 cm (mount)
Inscribed recto, on mount, lower center, in graphite: "[graphic signature with flower and S]"; verso, on mount, upper left: "[MOMA loan label]"; inscribed verso, on mount, center, in graphite: "Steichen's first "Masterpiece" (1900) / AS / May 23 / 1929 [not entirely legible/crossed out]"; verso, center, in graphite: "The Pool [underlined] / The Original Print (Platinum) / bought from Stiechen 1900 for / $5 00 [underlined] (New York) / Alfred Stieglitz"; verso, lower right, in graphite: "Bought in 1901 [double underlined]"; verso, lower right, diagonally, in graphite: "Steichen"; verso, lower right, in graphite: "54" [encircled]; verso, lower right, in graphite: "21/59"; verso, lower right, in graphite: "AIC C/E 61.171.6 / 61.279"; verso, upper left, in graphite: "23" [encircled]; verso, upper left, in graphite: "26" [crossed out]; verso, upper left, in graphite: "no glass[?]" [underlined]; verso, upper left, in graphite: "Stieglitz"; verso, upper right, in graphite: "Cut from [illegibile] to R 13 7/8 x 17 1/2 [crossed out]"; verso, upper right, in graphite: "[?] 1/4 107-29[?] / R 13 7/8 x 17[?] / [illegible]"
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949.873
For more on the Alfred Stieglitz collection at the Art Institute, along with in-depth object information, please visit the website: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
Museum of Moden Art, "Steichen the Photographer," March 28-May 30, 1961.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, "Platinum Prints from the Permanent Collection," January 16-March 20, 1977. (Kathleen Lamb)
Paris, France, Centre Georges Pompidou, "L'invention d'un Art," October 12, 1989–January 1, 1990.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, "A Measure of Nature: Landscape Photographs from the Permanent Collection,: May30-September 7, 1998.
New York, NY, Whitney Museum of American Art, "Edward Steichen (1879–1973)," October 5, 2001–February 4, 2002.
Lausanne, Switzerland, Musée de l'Élysée, "Edward Steichen: Lives in Photography,” January 17-March 23, 2008; previously exhibited at Jeu de Paume, Paris, October 9-Deceomber 30, 2007; traveled to Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, April 12-June 8, 2008; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, June 24-September 22, 2008.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, "Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago," November 7, 2009–January 31, 2010. (Judith Barter)
Publication History
Camera Notes 4, 3 (January 1901), p. 139.
Steichen, Edward. 1961. “Steichen, the Photographer.” Exh. cat. Museum of Modern Art, New York. p. 21.
Steichen, Edward. 1963. "A Life in Photography." Museum of Modern Art/Doubleday & Company. pl. 8.
Barter, Judith A. 2009. "Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago." Exh. cat. the Art Institute of Chicago. ch. 4, fig. 25, pl. 130.
