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 In its first show of 2009, Kicken Berlin presented an overview of art photography from 1896 to 1916. The following text is an excerpt from the show's press release written by Carolin Förster, Berlin based photo historian.
The turn of the century saw the establishment of an ‘international style’ in photography, laying claim to the medium’s recognition as a fine art. An additional goal of the Pictorialist movement was modernity; in contrast to the medium’s commercial and private uses, art photographers aspired to transform reality. By adapting the subjects of Symbolism, art nouveau’s awareness of form, and the craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts Movement, they participated in the artistic avant-garde of fin de siècle Modernism and conveyed a very clear message: Photography is art. Rather than being obvious or shocking, this modernity was hidden within individual aesthetic expression and in the art object’s sumptuous materiality. Numerous photography clubs, magazines, and museum exhibitions provided art photographers with a forum for critical recognition. The movement’s important centers included Vienna, Hamburg, and London, and it found its most important champion in the American Alfred Stieglitz, who published the magazine Camera Work. Study, Heinrich Kuehn, photogravure 1911
Continue reading "Pictorialism: Hidden Modernism" »
About three weeks ago I received in the mail Imagining Paradise, the new book highlighting the world-class collection of photographically illustrated books in George Eastman House’s Menschel Library. I immediately read the book cover to cover. It represents a concise, well-designed and beautifully printed book offering an overview of many of the publications that are represented on this site.
Then I recalled, when learning the wet-plate collodion process several years ago, I was allowed access to the GEH collection to view examples of vintage ambrotypes. I realized I could take a field trip to Rochester to see, in person, the books highlighted in Imagining Paradise.
So I assembled a list of titles that interested me (using their powerful Voyager catalog.) The list was ambitious to say the least, but it did not intimidate my gracious host, Rachel Stuhlman, the curator of rare books. She said she would see what she could do and agreed to meet me early the day I arrived so I could get a jump on the project. I was joined by friend and fellow photogravure enthusiast, David Spencer. His list doubled the number of titles I wanted to see.
When we arrived she was ready and waiting in the study room with carts of books. We wondered – could it really be this easy? We were beginning to understand what a powerful resource the George Eastman House is. Rachel was not just an accommodating hostess, but she was also a wealth of information when it comes to the photographically illustrated book. Having nurtured the library since 1982, she could answer questions about obscure variations in editions of ancient titles and could immediately put her hands on anything.
Believe it or not, our time was not spent only looking at books. We also had the good fortune to meet with and learn from the superb and talented staff of the GEH.
Mark Osterman, the process historian for the Advanced Residency Program for Photographic Conservation, gave us a crash course on a plethora of early photographic techniques including the use of a Camera Lucida and a Physionotrace.
Valentina Branchini, a research fellow in the Advanced Residency Program, provided fascinating insight into the work of Alvin Landon Coburn, teaching me more in a couple of hours than I have garnered from any book I have read on the subject. Together we examined Coburn photogravures, prints and negatives, comparing the subtle variations that may have motivated the direction of his work.
Sheila Foster, an independent researcher and co-editor of Imagining Paradise, (and a big fan of Camera Work photogravures) shared with us plans for an exciting new web resource on which the GEH is working and plans to unveil at the upcoming APAID.
Joe Struble, assistant archivist of the photo collection, pulled from the collection some rare examples of George Davison gravures as well as the large Coburn plates. Knowing we were in a hurry, he allowed us to take over the print viewing room, spreading out work that he would happily put away after we left.
Even Director of the ARP program, Grant Romer, made a point of stopping by to introduce himself and welcome us.
In short, we were very well taken care of at the GEH, so well in fact that we left with way more than what we originally expected to see, and plan on returning for we only scratched the surface of this great resource – a resource available free to anyone interested in almost any facet of history, processes, conservation or art of photography.
Thank you, GEH.
Please consider helping the George Eastman House continue to fulfill its responsibility as stewards of its consequential collection of photographs by visiting their website where you can find information about becoming a member or making a donation
 Recently I noticed that an issue of Camera Work XXVIII (28) was on the auction block. The minimum price was $875. The lot, in very good condition, did not sell. This is not surprising considering the current economic climate. When I consider what was offered, however, I am surprised - if not downright disappointed. I wonder, is this material not worth this price? Or – does the market just not understand what it is? Camera Work 28 contains 10 hand-pulled photogravures. Alvin Langdon Coburn himself pulled one of these plates, On the Embankment. Coburn was one of the few photographers that worked directly in photogravure, making his photogravures, in my opinion, original vintage prints. In addition to the Coburn, James Craig Annan supplied seven of the plates. Annan, possibly the finest photographer ever to work in photogravure, is credited with reviving interest in the work of Hill and Adamson. Annan’s connection to D.O. Hill is substantial. When Annan was a child, his father Thomas was a friend of Hill’s. The Annan’s even lived in Hill’s home for a short period. Thomas Annan, a skilled photographer himself, made his living photographically reproducing paintings and worked closely with Hill in the reproduction of his monumental and important painting, The First General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. In fact it was this work that initially inspired Hill to explore portrait photography as art. And Hill’s portraits inspired James Craig Annan’s pursuit of photography ( Janet Burnet, 1893.) In this issue of Camera Work six of the photogravures made by Annan are from Hill and Adamson’s original collotype negatives. These prints can and should be considered the best representations available of Hill and Adamson’s work. A talented craftsman intimately related to the original prints made them. In fact, in some way, these images are more accurate a representation than the original calotype. Over time Hill and Adamson’s calotypes have faded – subject to the same fate as the prints in Fox Talbot’s, Pencil of Nature (which consequently motivated Talbot to invent the photogravure process.) Yes I could go on and on about the reasons these images are so important, and in my opinion, of such great value. The question remains, however, what are they worth? This collector thinks they are worth preserving, that’s for sure.
 When is a restrike not a restrike?
Andrè Jammes is recognized as one of this century’s greatest photography collectors. An expert in early French photography, the photographically illustrated book and the history of photomechanical reproduction, Jammes was an early advocate of the importance and beauty of photogravure. This portfolio, printed in 1982, is a testament to Jammes’ belief that the photogravure process holds a relevant place in the history of the medium.
“Charles Nègre (1820-1880) was one of the most influential photographers of the XIXth century. His approach to architecture and his special taste for genre photography made him famous. He played a leading part in the field of photomechanical process in which he made important discoveries. As early as 1855 he brought the hand-pulled photogravure process to an extraordinary degree of perfection. His work, thus translated into permanent photographic etchings, is classical in the history of photography. So much so that at the Universal Exhibition of 1855, some critics considered that he had reached such perfection that “the important question of engraving through the action of light was finally resolved.”
The present portfolio demonstrated his successive trials, from the modest “Maçon accroupi” published in La Lumière in 1854, to the large-scale plates of Chartes cathedral, which are his masterpieces.
The fragile silver salts of normal photography are transcribed in the photogravure process with printing ink. This process adds to an appreciated esthetic improvement the guarantee of absolute permanence. These values have always been recognized as famous photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, and Paul Strand adopted photogravure with enthusiasm in Camera Notes and Camera Work. It ceased being used after the Second World War because of its cost. It is only recently that a few workshops have revived this old and marvelous process.
Continue reading "Charles Nègre: A Portfolio of 13 Photogravures" »
“Edward Steichen is an immortal among photographers. During the seven decades of his career, he advanced photography as an art form as well as a vital medium of visual communication. His richest, most profound photographs were made between 1900 and 1927. It is from this period that in 1969 he selected 12 masterpieces and, for his final photographic project, asked Aperture’s Michael Hoffman to attempt at that time what appeared to be impossible: publication of his prints as hand-pulled photogravures.”
Like his close colleague Alfred Stieglitz, Steichen understood the potential of photogravure and considered photogravure prints to be original works of art, in many cases the most faithful realization of the photographer’s intention. It is no wonder then that he chose photogravure for his last great work.
In the 70’s, Jon Goodman, already working to revive the photogravure process, teamed up with Richard Benson and Hoffman in an attempt to execute the exacting plates. The painstaking task of printing the plates was accomplished, under Jon’s supervision, at the atelier de Taille Douce, Saint-Prex, Switzerland. Twelve years later, the portfolio was finished. Of the twelve plates, three were made from Steichen’s original negatives – Torso, Isadora Duncan and Three Pears.
It baffles this writer why these portfolios have been sitting in Aperture’s inventory all this time. Is it possible that people just don’t realize that they are still available?… Well, they may not be for long. Only three complete portfolios remain. My sentiments…. It’s about time. It’s about time that this great portfolio is sold out, finally acknowledging that it is indeed an amazing and important achievement and a milestone in the history of photogravure.
View Portfolio Link to Aperture's catalog
Photogravure made a strong showing in this years spring auction season. Here are some of the highlights:
Lot 2 Thomas Annan, The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow $10,000 USD Lot 3 Alvin Langdon Coburn, London $13,750 USD Lot 4 Alvin Langdon Coburn, Men of Mark $5,000 Lot 5 Alvin Langdon Coburn, London (Chesterton, 1914) $3,750 USD Lot 7 Paul Strand, Camera Work 49/50 (presentation copy) $34,600 USD Lot 38 Doris Ullman, Roll Jordan Roll $39,400 USD Sotheby’s Sale No. N08424Lot 154 Alfred Stieglitz, Spring Showers (large format) $49,000 USD Lot 156 Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage (large format, signed) $91,000 USD Sotheby’s Sale No. N08425Lot 10 306 Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage (large format) $32,200 USD Christies Sale No. 1968 (off season)
Lot 306 Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage (small format) $10,000 USD
With APAID and the spring auctions fast approaching, it seems an appropriate time to post Penelope Dixon’s article, ‘ A Short History of Photograph Collecting.’ Dixon is perhaps the most qualified appraiser of fine art photography practicing today. In this essay she lays out for beginning and experienced collectors a concise and thoughtful overview of the history and practice of collecting photographs. Download TextTo learn more about Penelope Dixon and Associates you can visit their visit their web site
EXCELLENT RESULTS FOR PHOTGRAVURE AT SWANN GALLERIES’ AUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LITERATURE & PHOTOGRAPHS ON DECEMBER 13
“This was an exciting auction in which the synergy between Photographic Literature and classical photography was reconfirmed…” Daile Kaplan Photogravure highlights included several editions of Camera Work, among them Number 36, with 16 photogravures by Alfred Stieglitz, New York, 1911, which brought $28,800. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Theaters, special edition, issued with a signed photogravure, New York, 2000 brought $4,800. And Roy De Carava’s Roy De Carava, with 12 dust-grain photogravures printed by Paul Taylor in 1991, was the auction’s top lot at $81,000.  Roy DeCarava’s (American, b. 1919) photographs have documented African American life in New York from a deeply personal and yet socially conscious perspective. DeCarava explained his feelings when taking the 1964 photograph of five men coming out of the church service: "The motivation at that moment was my political understanding of the treatment of black people and their response to injustice...I wasn't at the bombing, I wasn't in the church, but I knew what it was and I wanted to make a picture that dealt with it. The [five] men were coming out of the church with faces so serious and so intense, and the image was made."
“Every number of Camera Work was published complete when issued. The way it happens that plates are missing is that frequently Camera Work came out of the bindery with plates to be inserted by me personally after binding. Some years ago many of the insets were either destroyed or mislaid. Hence the impossibility of completing many issues at present I know of no way of acquiring missing plates except in keeping one's eyes open for numbers of Camera Work as they may appear in the market. Absolutely complete sets of Camera Work are very, very rare & are priceless. No I have no reproductions either, there are none. The Plates in Camera Work for the major part are photogravures made directly from original negatives & were made under my direction as were the prints. -So from a certain point of view many of the Plates might be looked upon as a species of originals". From a letter written by Stieglitz to Grace E. Titus, December 18,1933 (ebay item 290030212499)
 In 1864 Julia Margaret Cameron, at the age of 48, took up photography. Her motivation was, “to arrest all beauty that came before me.” One of her first successes was an image created for her close friend, the painter George Fredrick Watts. The photograph, which she titled, “Sadness,” was a study of the Shakespearean actress, Ellen Terry.
Terry came from a theatrical family and had her stage debut at age nine. In 1862 she was introduced to Watts when she posed for one of his paintings. Conceding to the pressure of others, Terry and Watts were married in February 1864, when she was just sixteen. Within a year, the couple had separated, and they were formally divorced in 1877.
It is likely that this portrait was made on their honeymoon. And while Terry may have been striking a pose for Cameron, the picture’s title and Terry’s expression suggests that Cameron was probing Terry’s conflicted and anxious soul. Later, in her autobiography, Terry recalls how difficult her relationship with Watts actually was.*
Why did Stieglitz choose to reproduce Cameron’s, “Sadness” as a photogravure in Camera Work (entitled Ellen Terry, at the Age of Sixteen) ? Stieglitz believed that Cameron was one of fine art photography’s earliest practitioners and “Sadness” a classic example of her intentions.
* from In Focus: Julia Margaret Cameron. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Another perspective on the importance of Camera Work from the epilogue of Alfred Stieglitz and the Photo-Secession. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1983
"A lasting testament to Stieglitz and his ideas was his periodical Camera Work. It offered a visual record of the achievements of the American and foreign photographers in whom he believed, a living history of the Photo-Secession, and a digest of the aesthetic theories and intentions of both the progressive photographers and the burgeoning avant-garde in painting, sculpture, and criticism. As a reflection of what Stieglitz stood for, Camera Work remains a vital wellspring from which creative individuals may still draw nourishment and inspiration." - William Innes Homer
 This past week I had a telephone conversation with Jon Goodman. We discussed many topics including techniques of conserving Chine-collé gravures, the production history of Steichen’s Early Years portfolio as well as the collective state of consciousness with regard to appreciation of the photogravure process. Jon has been fighting an uphill battle from day one. Unless one takes the time to study photogravures and the process, it is difficult to appreciate their significance. Photography is an art that is closely tied to craftsmanship. In many cases, it is the combination of the content of an image and the craftsmanship employed in its printing that brings it to life. The subtle qualities of a print have a potent influence on its impact. These qualities mostly operate on a sub-conscious level. Many casual consumers of photography as well as some active collectors are not aware of the potent influence that print quality has on the effectiveness of the art. Thus a lack of appreciation of the fine qualities of photogravure combined with steady growth of computer generated pigment printing techniques is creating a challenging environment for those, like Jon, who make their living printing photogravures. A function of this site is to promote photogravure so that workers like Jon and others will continue to be appreciated. Any information I come across that can strengthen photogravure’s position in this rapidly expanding arena of fine art photography, I will try to post on this blog. Below is a letter written by Paul Strand to James Craft in 1968. Mr. Craft was writing his Doctoral Thesis on photogravure and was able to hear some of Strand’s opinions first hand. I hope this letter serves as further evidence that many photogravures are not merely mechanical reproductions, but closely supervised original prints.
Continue reading "Paul Strand Letter" »
 Recently I had an opportunity to study, first-hand, photogravures from the Stieglitz Collection archived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The collection contains several examples of photogravures from the pictorialist and Photo-Secession era. The highlights were a set of large-format plates of Stieglitz’s early New York images – all of which appeared in Camera Work, as well as an extensive array of James Craig Annan gravures.
While I was there I had the privilege of speaking with Malcolm Daniel, Curator of the Department of Photographs, about photogravure. Daniel, an authority on Edouard Baldus as well as the early history of photogravure in nineteenth-century France, agrees that some photogravures, when made under the direct supervision of the artist, can be considered original prints. He cited the Stieglitz plates in Camera Work as examples. When comparing Stieglitz’s large format photogravures to his original 4X5 contact prints, it is clear that Stieglitz tapped the potential of the photogravure process to bring his images to life. What I didn’t realize before my visit, however, was how closely the smaller format plates in Camera Work matched the large plates Stieglitz made for himself.
I am left with no doubt that the Stieglitz gravures in Camera Work can and should be considered original vintage prints. On the other hand, as Daniel pointed out, this is not true for all Camera Work gravures. For example the Hill and Adamson plates, although faithful and beautiful, were made posthumous. In addition, Hill and Adamson made salt prints which have characteristics all their own.
On a side note, when visiting the study room in the Department of Photography at the Met guests are asked to read and sign a document that provides print-handling guidelines. I thought it might be of interest so I have included it here…
Continue reading "Photogravures at The Met" »
Hamish Bowles, a European Editor at Large of Vogue was recently asked, "Who's the greatest model of all time and why?" His response...."MaechesaCasati, who is one of the most astonishing, extreme personages of the age. She really understood how to project in all her portraits, weather they were by Boldini or Man Ray" Adolf de Meyer's portrait of Casati that appeared in Camera Work 40 is one of the most beautiful photogravures ever printed. From Luminous-Lint... "There are parts of the life of Adolf de Meyer that are shrouded in mystery, his origins are not entirely clear, whether he was actually a Baron even though he referred to himself as one, and his homosexuality is confused by his marriage to Olga. The one thing that is clear is his pictorialist style of photography had a considerable influence on fashion photography in Vogue with the use of soft focus lens and lighting. If we examine the images from 1900 they show the style of fashion photography that was common at that period - basically very boring. It was in the decade that followed that he really developed a different style as the later photographs show. He was a member of the Linked Ring Brotherhood that was promoting pictorialism through its exhibition and this connection gave De Meyer access to people of social standing and photographers of influence. The soft focused shots with refined elegance imparted a misty desirable world of upper class society. His photographs were highly regarded by Alfred Stieglitz who showed them at his 291 Gallery in New York and they were included as photogravures in the seminal publication Camera Work - particularly Issue 40 in 1912. It is perhaps no coincidence that De Meyer was hired by Vogue the following year."
 One objective of this site is to bring awareness to the collecting community that certain photogravures are original, vintage prints. Coburn, Emerson and Annan worked directly in photogravure and their involvement is without question. When discussing Stiegliz and Camera Work plates however, the distinction is less clear.
Frequently I come across texts that support the position that many of the Camera Work gravures were made in close collaboration between Stieglitz and the artist. The following excerpt is from Weston Naef's, The Collection of Alfred Stieglitz ..."De Meyer was also a an impeccable judge of when he could speak out and refuse to pass on the proofs of his Camera Work gravures, describing what he has shown as 'too grey, lack contrast, weak and not luminous.' shortcomings which he felt drained the life from his flower studies. About gravures de Meyer knew Stieglitz was fastidious and would listen to criticism. p. 178
Sotheby’s Sale N08387
Lot 69 Stieglitz, The Steerage (large format) 12,000 – 18,000 USD
Lot 136 Mapplethorp, A Season in Hell 10,000 – 15,000 USD
Lot 137 McDermott and McGough,The Metallic Plate: The Art of Photography 7,000 – 10,000 USD
Sotheby’s Sale N08309
Lot 35 Coburn, New York 10,000 – 15,000 USD
Lot 36 Steichen, Rodin, Le Penseur (large, signed) 8,000 – 12,000 USD
Lot 37 Strand, Camera Work 48 10,000 – 15,000 USD
Lot 38 Stieglitz, The Steerage (from Camera Work) 5,000 – 7,000 USD
Christies Sale 1825
Lot 0230 Camera Work (complete) 150,000 – 250,000 USD
Bonhams & Butterfields Sale 14799
Lot 448 Stieglitz and White, Torso (from Camera Work) 3,500 - 5,500 USD
Lot 578 White, Alvin Langdon Coburn and His Mother, 1,500 - 2,000 USD
The value of the hand pulled photogravure is emerging as witnessed in last weeks aution entitled, 'Photographic Literature' at Swann in New York. The three top lots of this red-hot genre contained hand-pulled photogravures. Doris Ulmann's Roll, Jordan, Roll (New York, 1933) sold for $33,600. Alvin Langdon Coburn's, New York (London & New York, 1910) netted a record $28,800, and an issue of Camera Work, Number 36, with 16 Stieglitz photogravures was had for $20,400. More encouraging is that these lots were purchased by dealers, implying that the retail value of this work is significantly higher.
On October 6, 2006 Sotheby’s will auction (Photographs Sale No. 08227 – Lot 30) a rare inscribed and signed copy of ‘The Steichen Supplement’ (30,00 – 50,000 USD).
Lot description: (New York: Alfred Stieglitz, 1906), the complete issue, illustrated with 16 photogravures and halftones after the photographs of EDWARD STEICHEN, 15 plates signed by the photographer in pencil in the plate margin or on the page mount, the photogravure entitled ‘Road into the Valley—Moonrise’ hand-toned by the photographer and signed and dated by him in yellow pencil on the mount; the issue signed, dated, and inscribed ‘With the sincere compliments of Eduard Steichen Paris 1909’ by the photo grapher in pencil on the front free endpaper. 4to, original printed gray wrappers, in a matching gray board portfolio, 1906
View Steichen Supplement
 Acknowledging the rapidly growing interest in rare photobooks, Christie’s is holing its first ever photo book auction (RARE PHOTOBOOKS, Sale 7228 May 18, 2006, London, King Street). The sale contains many fine examples of rare books illustrated with hand-pulled photogravures including Laure Albin-Guillot’s, Micrographie Decorative (4,000 - 6,000 British pounds) and Alvin Langdon Coburn’s, A Door in the Wall and Other Stories (1,000-1,500 British pounds). A highlight of the auction is a rare, signed first edition of The Steichen Book, published in 1906 (40,000-60,000 British pounds). The book contains 29 photogravures of Steichen’s best work including The Pond- Moonrise which recently set the world record price for a photograph when it sold for $2,928,000.
Jon Goodman Photogravure and the Heron Press have announced the publication of PHOTOGRAPHING IN HIGH PLACES, a portfolio of ten photogravures by Bradford Washburn. Bradford Washburn, photographer, mountain climber, cartographer, explorer and museum director spent over four decades making photographs in the high places of the Alaska Range and the Yukon. Working with a large format aerial camera Washburn made astonishing images from on the ground and in the air of places that few if any had seen before his expeditions. PHOTOGRAPHING IN HIGH PLACES presents a collection of ten of these images as photogravures made from Bradford Washburn’s original negatives by Jon Goodman. The 10 x 13” plates are exquisitely printed on 17 x 20” Somerset paper accompanied by a text by Martha Sandweiss. 
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