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Alvin Langdon Coburn was born in Boston in 1882, and his interest in photography began
eight years later. In addition to being a founding member of the Photo-Secession in
1902, he
became a member of the Linked Ring in 1903. He was also associated with Wyndham Lewis
and
the Vorticist group in 1917 and 1918. Having emigrated to England in 1912, he became
a
naturalized British citizen in 1932. He died in Colwyn Bay, Wales in 1966. He is known
for
the pictorial effects he achieved in his portraits and views, thus helping to confirm
the
medium's place as an art form. |
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The collection is subdivided into three lots: I. Portraits from Men of Mark, 1904-1913 (34 items), II. Loose Prints (subdivided into
portraits, views, abstract), 1904-1950, n.d. (16 items), and III. Portraits of Helmut
Gernsheim, 1963 (8 items). The items in the first lot make up a complete set, including
one
duplicate, of signed and mounted proof prints of photogravures produced by Coburn
himself
(cf. Gernsheim Inventory #6) for his Men of Mark series, published
London: Duckworth & Co., 1913. Two printed advertisements for this series are included
with these items. The subjects are mainly British and Irish authors and artists, such
as
G.K. Chesterton, H.G. Wells, and G. Bernard Shaw. Among the six portraits of Americans
are
Henry James, Mark Twain, and the photographer Clarence H. White. There are also portraits
of
two French artists, Auguste Rodin and Henri Matisse, as well as one of German sociologist
Max Weber. The second lot contains six portraits, including one of Coburn himself
by an
unidentified photographer. There are also nine views and one abstract photograph.
Among the
views are scenes of Holland and Bavaria, Germany, as well as cityscapes of London
and New
York. The abstract photograph is one of Coburn's series of images which he called
"vortographs." |
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The item list which follows gives the accession no., genre, title/description, date,
format/process, dimensions in cm. and location of each item. Bracketed titles and
dates have
been taken either from Gernsheim Inventory #6 or from labels produced in-house. Two
exceptions to this are the dates for the portraits of Moore (964:0428:0003) and Coburn,
which have been estimated by the cataloger. Unless indicated otherwise, the photogravures
are signed, mounted proof prints produced by Coburn himself. In the case of signed
images,
the dimensions include the border area in which the signature is located. The item
list is
followed by an index of names of the subjects of the portraits. |
