(1864-1946)

The Flatiron, 1903. From Camera Work, No. 4, October 1903.

Photogravure on thin paper, mounted on cardboard. Vintage.

16.8 x 8.2 cm.

Under passepartout.

Literature:
- Dorothy Norman. Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer. New York, 1973 (ill. plate VII).
- Richard Whelan. Stieglitz on Photography, his selected essays and notes. New York, 2000 (ill. p. 112).

Provenance:
- Acquired on the market several years ago.
- French collection.

"It looked, from where I stood, as if it were moving toward me like the bow of a monster ocean steamer, a picture of the new America which was in the making. So day after day for several days, while the snow was still covering Madison Square Park, I made snapshots of the Flat-Iron Building. One of these pictures I enlarged. That is, I had a photogravure made from the original negative, in fact, two photo-gravures, different sizes, both enlargements of the original negative, and proofs pulled under my direct supervision. One enlargement was to be inserted into Camera Work..." (Whelan, New York, 2000, p. 113).
At the same time, Stieglitz's embrace of a more modernist depiction of contemporary life is reflected by the architectural form of the building, which he described as appearing to move toward him "like the bow of a monster ocean steamer - a picture of a new America that was still in the making." (Alfred Stieglitz:"Six Happening I: Photographing the Flat-Iron Building, 1902-3. In: Twice a Year 14-15 (1946-47), p. 188.)