albumen print, the photographer's red facsimile signature stamp in the lower right corner, mounted, titled and numbered (partially legible) in an unidentified contemporary hand in pencil and with the photographer's studio blindstamp on the mount, matted, framed, 1856-59

Harry Lunn, Jr., New York, 1986

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the 🅘above, 1989

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, June - August 1987; and traveling to:&nb⛦sp;

The A♋rt Institute of Chicago, September - December 1987

This print:

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 2

Eugenia Parry Janis, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1987, i🔥n conjunction with the exhibition), 🌠pl. 22

Other prints of this image:

Gordon Baldwin, ed., Gustave Le Gray: 1820-1884 (The J🎃. Paul Gettওy Museum, 2002, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 296

After Daguerre: Masterworks of French Photography (1848-1900) from the Bibliothèque Nationale (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in association with Berger-Levrault, 1980, i♏n conjun♔ction with the exhibition), pl. 83

Grading this albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10 – a 10 being a print that has rich, deep dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail – this print rates a 10. The dark tones are a rich reddish brown, and the print is essentially in excellent condition. The lightening in tone visible along the right side of the image, as well as the series of scalloped shapes on the top edge, are present in the negatives and are not defects in the present print. The print of this image in the Bibliotheque Nationale shows these same characteristics (cf. "After Daguerre: Masterworks of French Photography (1848-1900) from the Bibliotheque Nationale," pl. 83). In 1989, the print underwent conservation in which it was removed from its mount and cleaned. The acidic core of the mount was removed, and replaced with an archivally stable material, and the print was then reapplied. More recently, the print was conserved to address issues pertaining to its coating, which had become somewhat hazy. This haziness is now completely absent and the print's original clarity is fully restored. The photograph itself bears no obvious evidence of conservation; it is only when one examines the mount closely that the intervention can be seen. Treatment reports are available upon request. A full discussion of Gustave Le Gray's use of coatings appears in 'Coatings on the Photographic Prints of Gustave Le Gray,' by Marc Harnly, Martin Salazar, and Dusan Stulik, a chapter in the book "Coatings on Photographs, Materials, Techniques, and Conservation" (Photographic Materials Group, 2005).
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The photograph offered here was the second photograph acquired by the Quillan Collection, after the 1929 photogram by László Moholy-Nagy (Lot 39).  According to Quillan curator Jill Quasha, it was 'the poetic subject of the two pictures--the glorious emergence of light from darkness' that led her to see the relationship between them (The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs, p. 9).  These two photographs would set the tone for the remainder of the Quillan Collection, embodying Quasha's desire to select photographs that 'express their sense of the world's beauty through photography's forms' (The Quillan Collection, p. 8).

Cloud Study, Sète, illustrates the intensity of emotion and the dramatic contrasts between light and dark that Le Gray hoped to evoke in his seascapes.  After years of photographing in the studio, or for the Mission Héliographique and its architectural survey, Le Gray turned in 1855 and 1856 to more personal subject matter with his photographs of the Normandy and Mediterranean coasts.  Taken between 1856 and 1859 in the south of France, Cloud Study, Sète, is an example of Le Gray's combination printing technique that allowed him to produce one cohesive image from two different negatives.  Due to differing exposure times, Le Gray used one negative for the sky and another negative for the considerably darker sea.  He was therefore able to create an evocative cloud study that reflects his interest in capturing spontaneous atmospheric effects, as well as the movement of the sea.  Eugenia Parry Janis has noted in her book on Gustave Le Gray that the two negatives used to create Cloud Study, Sète, were used in various combinations f🌳or up to seven other photographs (Janis, p.🎃 76).

The present photograph comes originally from a group of Le Gray photographs discovered in an English collection in 1986 by the photographs dealer Harry Lunn, Jr.  This print was subsequently included in the important 1987 exhibition, The Photography of Gustave Le Gray, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art aꦓnd the Art Institute of Chicago.  

As of this writing, three other prints of this image have been located.  Two are in institutional collections: in the Department de Étampes et de la Photographie, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France; and at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Troyes.   Another was sold at Sotheby's Paris on 21 March 2002 (Sale PF2003, La Photographie II, Collection Marie-Thérèse et André Jammes, Lot 91).