flush-mounted to Masonite, credit and date in pencil on the reverse, 1950

The photographer to Charles Egan, early 1950s

Collection of Egan's widow, Teresa Egan

New York, Egan Gallery, early 1950s

Aaron Siskind, Photographs (New York, 1959), pl. 25

As is characteristic of Siskind's early exhibition prints, particularly those that were shown at Charles Egan's gallery in the late 1940s and early 1950s, this print is flush-mounted to Masonite. Three narrow wooden blocks are glued to the reverse of the mount, which create a space between the photograph and wall when hung. This photograph is in generally good to very good condition. The print is lifting slightly from the mount primarily along the upper edge. As is typical of early Masonite-mounted prints, when viewed in raking light, craquelure is visible across the print's surface. Also visible in raking light are several small, matte fingerprints, primarily at the edges, from handling. The edges and corners are rubbed and some small losses of emulsion are visible. The condition issues described above do not diminish the impressive appearance of this early exhibition print.
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This early mounted exhibition print comes originally from the collection of pioneering New York City gallerist Charles Egan (1911-1993).  Between 1947 and 1954, Egan held five exhibitions of Siskind's photographs in his mid-town gallery—a remarkable venture, given the exceedingly small market for photographs at that time.  The choice of Siskind and his photographs was not an entirely unusual one for Egan, who had shown such artists as Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Isamu Noguchi, and Joseph Cornell long before handling their work was a lucrative prospect. While Siskind would be the first photographer shown by Egan, he was not the last.  In 1949, Egan offered Siskind's friend, the photographer and artist Frederick Sommer, his first solo exhibition of photographs and drawings.     

This image is reproduced in Siskind's first monograph, Photographs (New York, 1959), whi🤡ch is dedicated to Charles Egan. As is characteristic of the photographs Siskind showed at the Egan Gallery, this print is m🌄ounted on thick Masonite, a treatment which gives the print a three-dimensional presence on the wall not typically associated with photographs.