The Paul Allen collection auction. The Flatiron. Edward Steichen. price realised USD. 11.840.000
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
The Flatiron
signed and dated 'Steichen MDCCCCV' (lower right)
gum-bichromate over platinum print
Sheet: 19 x 14 3/4 in. (48.3 x 37.5 cm.)
1904, printed 1905
The Met
Steichen added color to the platinum print that forms the foundation of
this photograph by using layers of pigment suspended in a
light-sensitive solution of gum arabic and potassium bichromate.
Together with two variant prints in other colors, also in the Museum's
collection, "The Flatiron" is the quintessential chromatic study of
twilight. Clearly indebted in its composition to the Japanese woodcuts
that were in vogue at the turn of the century and in its coloristic
effect to the "Nocturnes"