platinum print, tipped to thin board, tipped again to beige paper, signed and inscribed 'To Miss Laura Gilpin, with kind regard' and dated 'July 1918' by the photographer in pencil on the mount, 1905, printed no later than 1918

Gift of the photographer to Laura Gilpin, 1918
By descent to a private collection
Sotheby's New York, 27 April 2005, Sale 8086, Lot 27

Camera Work Number 23, p. 19
Weston Naef, The Collection of Alfred Stieglitz, Fifty Pioneers of Modern Photography (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978), pl. 560
William Homer, et al, The Symbolism of Light: The Photographs of Clarence H. White (University of Delaware, 1977), cover and pl. 63

This beautiful platinum print has rich, warm tones and is essentially in excellent condition. The surface has a delicate sheen, which gives a sense of depth to the image. There is some very minor chipping in the emulsion along the top and bottom edges of the print, but this is visible only upon close examination. Also visible upon close examination is a small loss of emulsion in the lower left corner. These issues do not detract in a measurable way from the overwhelmingly fine appearance of this print. There are several lines cut into the primary mount, only visible when the print is lifted up slightly at the bottom edge. There is some faint sunning on the secondary mount, directly around the periphery of the primary mount.
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.

Clarence H. White began photographing in his early twenties in Newark, Ohio, and exhibited his work to positive reviews almost immediately.   By 1898, he had met Alfred Stieglitz, who elected White an honorary member of the New York Camera Club and organized a one-man exhibition of his work in 1899.  As a founding member of Stieglitz’s Photo-Secession group, White participated in nearly every major photographic exhibition in the United States and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the New School of American Photography in London (1900) and the International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography in Buffalo (1910).  In 1907, he began to devote his energy almost exclusively to teaching photography.  He taught at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and, in 1910, founded a summer school of photography at Georgetown Island, Maine, with fellow Photo-Secessionists Gertrude Käsebier and F. Holland Day.  In 1914, he opened the Clarence H. White School of Photography in New York City where he taught, among others, Laura Gilpin, Dorothea Lange, Paul Outerbridge, Margaret Bourke-White, Karl Struss, Ralph Steiner, and Doris Ulmann. 

This photograph comes originally from the collection of the photographer Laura Gilpin (1891 – 1979), who studied with Clarence H. White in 1916 and 1917.  Gilpin first began photographing in 1903, when her parents gave her a Brownie camera and a develﷺoping tank for her birthday.  She became an avid amateur photographer, producing work, even as a teenager, that was notable for its simple elegance.  In 1905, while on a family trip to New York City, Gilpin’s mother arranged for Gertrude Käsebier to make portraits of Laura and her brother.  Years later, in 1916, when Gilpin resolved to become a professional photographer, K&au🉐ml;sebier advised her that the Clarence H. White School of Photography was the best place to study.  Gilpin studied with White from 1916 to 1917, and was later secretary of the White School Alumni Association. 

While it is unknown how many prints of 'Morning' are in existence, it is believed that only two other prints of the image have previously appeared at auction.  Both of these prints were originally from the collection of another of White’s students, Allie Bramberg Bode, and were offered in these rooms on 5 November 1984 (Lot 348) and 7 May 1985𓆏 (Lot 335).