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Lot Essay
According to the Sotheby's, May 1984 catalogue note, Steichen gave this print to a young American doctor who treated him at the American Hospital in Neuilly in 1902. The doctor was a supporter of, and friendly with, many members of the Photo-Secession movement.
This image is from a series of nudes Steichen executed in 1902, featuring the female figure turned away from the camera and generally against dark backgrounds. Obscuring the facial features of the models was neither a psychological ploy nor a reflection on Steichen's attitude towards women. Instead, as Steichen explains in his autobiography, A Life in Photography (Part 2. Europe..., n.p.), "I did a number of nude figures in Paris... In none of these figures is the face visible. For many years everyone had prejudices against posing in the nude, and even professional models usually insisted, when they posed for nude pictures, that their faces not be shown."
There is a similar, unsigned print of this image in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, a gift of the photographer.
This image is from a series of nudes Steichen executed in 1902, featuring the female figure turned away from the camera and generally against dark backgrounds. Obscuring the facial features of the models was neither a psychological ploy nor a reflection on Steichen's attitude towards women. Instead, as Steichen explains in his autobiography, A Life in Photography (Part 2. Europe..., n.p.), "I did a number of nude figures in Paris... In none of these figures is the face visible. For many years everyone had prejudices against posing in the nude, and even professional models usually insisted, when they posed for nude pictures, that their faces not be shown."
There is a similar, unsigned print of this image in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, a gift of the photographer.