EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973) Vauquois Mine Craters (Argonne Sector) over 2000 ft. in diameter. Silver print, the image measuring 8½x15⅜ inches (21.6x39 cm.), the sheet 15¾x19¾ inches (40x50.2 cm.), with a title "Vauquois Winter" in ink on recto, and Steichen's credit stamp on verso. Circa 1918-19
This photograph was taken when Steichen was a member of the Photographic Section, Air Service, of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The devastated region depicted, which lies to the northwest of Verdun, is now the site of the Memorial of the Defenders of the Argonne, which is engraved with the numbers of 275 French regiments, 18 Italian regiments, and 32 American divisions which saw service in the Argonne sector, and contains the remains of several thousand unknown soldiers.
