Sep 26 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2679 -

Sale 2679 - Lot 26

Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000

EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)

The Flatiron - Evening, from Camera Work XIV. 1904; printed 1906.
Three-color halftone print, the image measuring 21¼x16½ cm, 8⅜x6½ inches; double mounted to Japan tissue and the original page mount 30½x21½ cm, 12x8½ inches.

Designed by Daniel Burnham at the turn of the 20th century, the Flatiron Building was considered a groundbreaking skyscraper in the United States due to its early steel skeleton structure and triangular design. Today, it remains one of the most iconic buildings in New York.

Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and its magnificence has been beautifully recorded by Steichen in this evocative photograph in 1904. With its atmospheric yet modernist aura, the photograph captures the interplay between the tree branches in the foreground, the carioles on the rainy streets, and the newly built Flatiron that we can distinguish in the background at dusk.

Until today, this image stands as an iconic depiction of the building and a groundbreaking image in terms of pictorialist aesthetic. Steichen made three color variations in brown, blue-green, and yellow-green-black by using different proportions of pigments in each gum process over platinum. These prints are extremely rare on the market. The best-known greenish variation was popularized as a three-color halftone print by Alfred Stieglitz in the publication Camera Work XIV in 1906.

The Flatiron - Evening is not only a strong testimony of modern New York but also a subtle chromatic study of twilight with its undoubtedly Japanese influence. The composition itself integrates natural and modern features that cohabit harmoniously, and the half-tone process allowed Steichen to achieve a painterly quality through subtle tonal variations by manipulating the dot patterns in the printing process. And like Japanese woodblock prints, this colored print was processed with multiple inks in the days before practical color photographic processes became available.
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