+ Expand

Dimensions: measurements note 9¾ by 7 5/8 in. (24.8 by 19.4 cm.)

+ Expand

Provenance: Estate of Paul StrandLight Gallery, New YorkPrivate CollectionAcquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1990

+ Expand

Literature: Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 19 (this print)Another print of this image:Paul Strand: Rebecca (New York: Robert Miller Gallery, 1996, in conjunction with the exhibition), cover and pl. 6Sarah Greenough, Paul Strand: An American Vision (Aperture and The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 1990, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 40

+ Expand

Notes: Strand was a master at the craft of platinum printing, and worked meticulously with all of the variables of the process to produce prints to his satisfaction. This might involve experimentation with different developers, the addition of bleach, or the use of a number of toning agents. Strand even manipulated the temperatures of his chemistry in order to create certain effects. Once a print met his high standards, Strand would varnish the surface to give it the subtle sheen that is visible on the print offered here. It is through his attention to these many details that Strand produced prints such as this, filled with visual detail and emotional content. Belinda Rathbone points out that Strand's series of portraits of Rebecca stands out in the context of his work, for it is the one area where his usual objectivity gives way to a more personal approach. 'Compared with his earlier subject matter,' she writes, 'these portraits of Rebecca seem effortlessly arranged; most important, they succeed in coalescing completely his art and his intimate life . . . Never again would Strand use his art to explore the facets of an intimate relationship' (Paul Strand: Essays on His Life and Work, pp. 81-86). The bravura platinum print offered here is believed to be one of only two known platinum prints of the image. The other print, formerly in the collection of Margaret W. Weston, is now in a private West Coast collection.