Paul Strand
1929
Boat and Sheds, Gaspé

Gelatin silver print
4 3/4 x 6 ins (12 x 15.1 cm)
 
Sotheby's - Paris
9 October 2018, Modernism: Photographs from a Distinguished Private Collection, Lot: 7
 
Catalogue note
 
Paul Strand made this photograph in 1929 during his first trip to the Gaspé Peninsula. The region had just become accessible to visitors through the construction of a road. Strand had to adapt his printing techniques in order to highlight the specificity of the Northern greyness. His desire was to transcribe the interaction between human and his envirement between the sea, sky and earth.
 
Considered as the leader of « straight photography » , Strand is celebrated as much for his formal innovations and for his social concerns
 
The inscription "gsp-arch-333 TI" comes from the Aperture Foundation cataloguing system. "gsp" meaning the project, here Gaspé. "arch" is the subject subcategory for architecture. "333" corresponds to the negative number. "T" is for large subgroup in the archive which is irrelevant here. "I" meaning the duplicate number and each print gets its own, I, II, III etc.
 
The signature on the reverse is by Paul Strand widow, Hazel. She was authorized to sign prints after his death and she also inscribed "master" when she prefered the print from a particular negative. It is relevant as it corresponds to what Paul Strand was looking for as a finished print to look like.
 
LL/85215