platinum print, hinged to a buff paper mount, signed and dated by the photographer in pencil and inscribed by Modotti to 'Maestro A. R. Martinez' in ink on the mount, inscribed in an unidentified hand in ink on the reverse, framed, Buhl Collection and Guggenheim Museum exhibition labels on the reverse, 1921

Christie's New York, 6 October 1998, Sale 8982, Lot 193

James Danziger Gallery, New York, 1998

New York, Guggenheim Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection, June - September 2004, and 4 other international venues through 2007 (see Appendix 1)

Palm Beach Photographic Centre, In Good Hands: Selected Works from the Buhl Collection, March 2011

Middletown, Delaware, Warner Gallery at St. Andrew's School, In Good Hands: Selected Works from the Buhl Collection, October - November 2011

Jennifer Blessing, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection (Guggenheim Foundation, 2004), pp. 79 and 253 (this print)

Another print in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum:

Beth Gates Warren, Artful Lives: Edward Weston, Margrethe Mather, and the Bohemians of Los Angeles (The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011), fig. 65, p. 221

Sarah M. Lowe, Tina Modotti and Edward Weston: The Mexico Years (Barbican Art Gallery, 2004), pl. 4

Susan Danly and Weston J. Naef, Edward Weston in Los Angeles (The Huntington Library, 1986), pl. 4

Brett Abbott, In Focus: Edward Weston, Photographs from The J. Paul Getty Museum (The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005), pl. 8

Another print in the collection of Sondra Gilman:

Patricia Albers, Shadows, Fire, Snow:  The Life of Tina Modotti (New York, 1999), cover

Adam D. Weinberg, From the Heart: The Power of Photography--A Collector's Choice (Aperture, 1998), dust jacket and p. 67

Inscription: "A Maestro A. R. Martinez, con omaggi di gratitudine, Tina Modotti-Richey, Mexico-3-1922" This image is rendered on platinum paper, and Weston made expert use of the paper's long tonal scale to create a sensitive, evocative portrait. While the composition makes effective use of shadow, it does not devolve into the heavy-handed sentimentality typical of Pictorialism. In this photograph, Weston has taken traditional tools of the Pictorialist – platinum paper and dramatic lighting – and turned them toward Modernist ends. The photograph is essentially in excellent condition. The surface is very clean, and close examination reveals only one small spot of what is likely original retouching between Modotti's pinky and ring finger. The photograph is hinged to its original mount with modern hinges. The mount is in fine condition: Weston's precisely-written signature and date are clear and unfaded, and Modotti's ink inscription is bold. A very faint stain below the inscription can be seen when the mount is examined closely, and there is faint age-darkening on the mount's right edge.
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 is one of a series of memorable portraits of Tina Modotti made by Edward Weston in 1921, soon after their affair began.  At the time this photograph was taken, each was married to someone else: Weston to the former Flora Chandler, the mother of his four children, and Modotti to the poet and textile designer, Roubaix de l'Abrie Richey.  In the present image, Modotti’s gaze and the emphatic, bold placement of her hand fill the frame with intensity.

This photograph is warmly inscribed by Modotti to the Mexican artist and educator Alfredo Ramos Martínez, likely in gratitude for his support of an exhibition arranged by Modotti in Mexico City in 1922: ‘A Maestro A. R. Martinez con omaggio di gratitudine Tina Modotti-Richey, Mexico – 3 – 1922.’   The exhibition, featuring the work of local artists, had been planned originally by Modotti’s husband Robo de Richey.  But when de Richey died of smallpox in February of that year, Modotti was left in charge, and with the help of Martinez and others, brought the show to fruition.  With batiks by Richey, paintings by Mahlon Blaine and J. W. Horwitz, and photographs by Edward Weston, Jane Reece, and others, it opened at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes on March 9^thand was a critical and financial success. Weston in particular was pleased with the sales of his work.  Martinez (1871-1946), a muralist who had studied in Paris, was the director of the Academy’s Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes and the founder of Mexico’s Open Air Schools project, an important program for young artists and children.

As of this writing, only three prints of this image have been located: a gelatin silver print in ꦜtಞhe collection of Sondra Gilman; a palladium print in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum; and the print offered here, signed by both the photographer and the sitter.