On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

The Hand of Man

Photograph
1902 (photographed), 1903 - 1904 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Stieglitz, Alfred (photographer)

Black and white photograph of railway tracks with steam train coming towards viewer, buildings in the background.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
Titles
  • The Hand of Man (assigned by artist)
  • The Work of Alfred Stieglitz (series title)
Materials and techniques
Photogravure on Japan paper
Japanese Paper
Photogravure
Brief description
Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 'The Hand of Man', photogravure on thin beige laid Japan paper, 1902, printed 1903/4
Physical description
Black and white photograph of railway tracks with steam train coming towards viewer, buildings in the background.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 31.8cm
  • Image width: 24.2cm
  • Mount height: 49.7cm
  • Mount width: 66.2cm
Gallery label
(May 2023)
A train chugs towards the viewer, blowing smoke across an urban scene of rail tracks, telephone lines and factory buildings. Stieglitz took this picture from the back of a moving train. Published in the first issue of the journal Camera Work, the photograph explores the artistic possibilities that can be found in the city and the impact of the human hand on the landscape.
(07 03 2014)
Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2011-2012, label text :

Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)
‘The Hand of Man’
1902, printed 1903/4

As a photographer, publisher, writer and gallery
owner, Stieglitz played a key role in the promotion
and exploration of photography as an art form. He
also helped introduce modern art to an American
audience. Taking its cue from Monet’s Impressionist
paintings of similar subjects, this image is a
comment on the magnificent power and beauty
of the machine age.

Photogravure
Gift of the Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation
Museum no. E.903-2003
Credit line
Gift of the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation
Subject depicted
Trains (Vehicle Groupings)
Bibliographic reference
Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002., vol. 1, 496p., iIl. ISBN 0810935333
Other number
278 - Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.903-2003

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Record createdDecember 5, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O119380/the-hand-of-man-photograph-stieglitz-alfred/
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