Stairwell, Williamsburg

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Stairwell, Williamsburg

United States, 1935
Photographs
Gelatin silver print
Image: 9 3/8 × 6 1/16 in. (23.81 × 15.4 cm) Primary support: 9 3/8 × 6 1/16 in. (23.81 × 15.4 cm) Secondary support: 15 15/16 × 13 in. (40.48 × 33 cm) Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.64 cm)
The Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection, gift of The Annenberg Foundation and Carol Vernon and Robert Turbin (M.2008.40.1809)
Not currently on public view

History

Marjorie and Leonard Vernon purchased this significant Charles Sheeler photograph in 1980....
Marjorie and Leonard Vernon purchased this significant Charles Sheeler photograph in 1980. Sheeler, an important 20th century American photographer, sought out simple geometric relationships and was exceptionally sensitive to the formal structure of those elements in his images. About the purchase of this artwork Dale Stulz, photography appraiser and advisor to the Vernons, wrote:

"They bought quite a number of things of import at auction during the period I was involved (at Christies, 1978-84), so we had a lot of interaction. They bought a major Sheeler …I was thrilled because I’m a big Sheeler fan, and I had studied his photographs largely because of my interest in his painting and other of the 'precisionist' painters of the period. They understood it. And they understood that Sheeler was an important person to have in their collection, where a lot of people didn’t…"
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Bibliography

  • Salvesen, Britt. See the Light: Photography, Perception, Cognition: the Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2013.