Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Karl Struss
The Cliffs, Sorrento

1912

About the Item

This photograph titled "The Cliffs, Sorrento" created 1912 in a black and white photogravure by American photographer Karl Struss, 1886-1981. The photogravure size is 6.20 x 8.20 inches, framed size is 17.65 x 21.65. The photogravure is in excellent condition, the frame is in good condition, it has 2 scratches and will be replaced by a similar black frame when sold, this will bring the over all condition to excellent. Provenance: Michaans Auction, Alameda, donated by Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. About the artist: Karl Struss was born in New York and studied photography with Clarence White. In 1910 he exhibited with members of the Photo-Secession and later had work reproduced in Camera Work. He took over White's studio from 1914 to 1917 where he made portraits as well as advertising and magazine illustrations. During these same years he continued to exhibit in pictorial salons and invented the Struss Pictorial Lens, a soft-focus lens popular with artist-photographers of the period. In 1919 Struss moved to Hollywood where he worked as a still photographer for Cecil B. DeMille, advancing to film cameraman after only three months. Unlike most other cameramen and still photographers working in Hollywood at the time, Struss himself was trained as an artist-photographer. With his aesthetic orientation and technical ability, Struss produced some of the first highly stylized portraits and production stills in Hollywood. He won the first Academy Award for cinematography in 1929 for his work on "Sunrise" and went on the photograph well over one hundred films. 2014 Karl Struss: Pictorialist Photographer, Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, USA (solo) 2012 American Photography: Focus New York, Flo Peters Gallery, Hamburg, Germany 2008 Robert Tat Gallery, San Francisco, USA 2004 The Nudes of Karl Stuss, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, USA (solo) 1995 New York to Hollywood: The Photography of Karl Struss, Equitable Gallery, New York, USA (solo) 1977 Stephen White Gallery of Photography, Los Angeles, USA (solo) 1976 Karl Struss: Man with a Camera, International Center of Photography, New York, USA (solo) 1910 The work of Karl Struss is held in numerous collections and museums including, The Getty Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum Of Modern Art, San Francisco.
  • Creator:
    Karl Struss (1886 - 1981, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1912
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 17.65 in (44.84 cm)Width: 21.65 in (55 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    San Francisco, CA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: str/cli/sor/011stDibs: LU66639680542

More From This Seller

View All
Washington Square with Trade Center Towers II
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Wolf von dem Bussche American (born Germany) 1934-2014 Title: Washington Square with Trade Center Towers II Year: 1976 Medium: Gelatin Sil...
Category

1970s Impressionist Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona
By Huntington Witherill
Located in San Francisco, CA
This Photograph titled "Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona" is a gelatin silver print by noted American photographer Huntington Witherill, born ...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Variation on Weston
By Jack Welpott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Jack Welpott – American (1923-2007) Title: Variation on Weston Year: 1963 Medium: Gelatin silver print Size: 7.5 x 9.6 inches Mounted size: 13 x 16.25 inches Signature: Initialed and dated in pencil on the mount; signed, titled and dated in ink, his copyright credit stamp on mount verso Edition: unknown. Condition: Very good This exceptional gelatin silver print is by the noted American photographer Jack Welpott (1923-2007) The artwork is initialed and dated in pencil on the mount; signed, titled and dated in ink, his copyright credit stamp on mount verso It is in good condition aside from some uneven toning and a few creases/scuffs on mount. Please see pictures. It is mounted but not framed. Jack Welpott’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Getty Museum, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum, New York; International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris and the Australian National Gallery among others. Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Jack Welpott (1923-2007) was educated at primary and secondary schools in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. He learned about photography as a boy by watching his uncle in the darkroom, and began taking pictures by the time he was twelve. After high school he enrolled in college, but was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in 1943. He served in the South Pacific as a radio intercept operator until 1946. In 1949, he earned his BS in Economics from the University of Indiana, Bloomington on the G.I. Bill. He then studied photography under Henry Homes Smith, painting under Leon Golub and Harry Engle, and design with George Rickey receiving his MS in Visual Communication in 1955. Welpott then completed his MFA in photography and painting in 1959, getting to know classmates Jerry Uelsmann and Van Deren Coke in the process. During these years, he also became acquainted with Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, and Minor White. Upon graduation, Welpott was hired by John Gutmann to teach photography in the Art Department at San Francisco State College, now San Francisco State University, where he made extensive contributions to the field of photographic education over the next thirty-three years. In the early 1960s there were few photography courses or graduate programs offered so Welpott pioneered individual courses and a graduate program, and taught one of the first history of photography courses at the college level. Don Worth joined the faculty in 1962, adding color photography to the program, long before color photography was widely accepted as an art medium. Welpott was a beloved instructor and was deeply dedicated to the success of his students. His educational goal was to determine the needs of the student, provide constructive criticism, and most importantly, help them develop their own vision. A number of his students have had successful photographic careers including Judy Dater, Leland Rice, John Spence Weir, Michael Bishop, Harvey Himelfarb, and Catherine Wagner. He was a pillar in San Francisco’s photographic community for years, along with Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernard...
Category

1960s Modern Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Prehistoric Rain Forest, Oregon
By Geir Jordahl
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Geir Jordahl – American (1957- ) Title: Prehistoric Rain Forest, Oregon Year: 1988 Medium: Silver Gelatin photograph using infrared film Sight size: 8 x 19.75 inches. Framed size: 16.25 x 26.25 inches Signature: Signed on the mount Edition: 50. This one: 2/50. (Fewer than 50 were actually printed) Condition: Very good Frame: Framed in original metal frame. Frame in fair condition This photograph depicts a lush area in Oregon with many ferns and trees as well as a painted dinosaur head...
Category

1980s Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Waipio Valley, Hawaii
By Geir Jordahl
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Geir Jordahl – American (1957- ) Title: Waipio Valley, Hawaii Year: 1987 Medium: Silver Gelatin photograph using infrared film Sight size: 8.25 x ...
Category

1980s Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Cristo, Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca
By Paul Strand, 1890-1976
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Paul Strand – American (1890-1976) Title: Cristo, Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Year: 1933, printed 1967, Da Capo Press, New York Medium: Photogravure hand-printed from the original plates on BFK Rives paper Publisher: Da Capo Press, 1967, New York Sight size: 10 ¼ x 7 7/8 in. (260 x 200 mm) Sheet size: 15 3/4 x 12 3/8 in. (402 x 313 mm) Framed size: 17 x 14 inches Edition:1000 Condition: Excellent This hand-pulled photogravure is from Paul Strand’s Mexican Portfolio, first published in 1933. This photogravure is from the 2nd edition, published in 1967. It is in excellent condition. It is enclosed in a simple metal frame and Plexiglas only for protection. A seminal work by a legendary figure in 20th century American photography, the photographs taken by the author on his travels through Mexico in 1932-33 show architecture, landscape, the indigenous people, and religious folk sculpture. Strand's work first made its appearance as "Photographs of Mexico" in a limited edition of 250 copies in 1940, with the printing of the steel-faced gravure plates by master platemaker Otto Wackernagel being supervised by Strand himself and executed by Charles Furth and the Photogravure and Color Company. The second edition used the original Wackernagel plates, printed by Albert Delong at the Andersen Lamb Company of Brooklyn. Strand was even more pleased with this version, stating "Delong has made these plates sing." The images are a celebration of the subjects' pride, dignity and endurance. Paul Strand (1890–1976) is considered one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century. His breakthrough work in the 1910s heralded photography’s importance as a modern art form. Early in his career he broke from the soft, impressionistic Pictorialist style to produce among the first abstract images made with a camera. His questioning attitude led him to radically change his work multiple times in his career, always with the highest ambitions for the quality of his photographic prints. In 1932, Carlos Chavez, the director of the fine arts department at the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico, invited Strand to Mexico. At this time, the Mexican government was concerned with demonstrating a national culture that was reflective of a burgeoning, modern, twentieth-century Mexico. In light of this, Chavez invited Strand to document the new social and physical environment. Over the next two years, Strand travelled around Mexico photographing...
Category

1930s Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Paper, Photogravure

You May Also Like

Beadnell, 'Ice Cream Van', England - black and white print
Located in London, GB
"I was intrigued to find what I supposed was the world's largest ice cream vendor in the world's smallest ice cream van, The rear suspension plays testament to this." - David George Beadnell, England, "Ice Cream Van", from the 'East of Eden' series, 2020 Photogravure; Charbonnel Ink on Archival Somerset Satin Paper Photogravure, 14.85 x 21 cm plus frame, (custom made with antireflective art glass) Edition of 2/5 + 2APs, Signed and numbered David George's interest in British landscape began under the tutelage of John Blakemore at Derby University and continues to be a major part of his practice, now mainly concerned with ideas of classical and romantic visual semantics in the contemporary British landscape. His work looks at the decline of traditional industries, incorporating his interest in 19th century European landscape painting...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, Photo...

Alaska Forest Stream - Black & White Landscape Photograph
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful black & white landscape photograph of forest trees and stream in the woods of Alaska, by Anchorage-based nature photographer George Provost (American, 20th Century). Hand signed and dated "George Provost 1989" lower right. Photograph is hand made from an 8x10 camera negative in a traditional "wet" darkroom, by the photographer. Mounted on white mat board. Unframed. Image size: 19"H x 15"W. Born in California, Provost grew up in the Bay Area. He has lived and worked in Alaska since 1987, specializing in large format, fine art, black and white photography. His work has been exhibited in over 60 exhibitions, received numerous awards, and is included in hundreds of collections, both public and private. George Provost was an Isle Royale...
Category

1980s American Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

The Flag House BW
By Gerard Giliberti
Located in East Hampton, NY
Title: Flag House Also available in 20"x30" Edition of 10 $725 *Photography: U Wash Truck, Death Valley and Mulford Lane, Amagansett 2012 have been featured in the June 2019 issue of Black & White Magazine and the photograph Boat...
Category

2010s American Realist Landscape Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Zen Clouds Landscape in Black and White, Limited Edition Giclée Print, Sky Scape
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive limited edition black and white giclée print, on 100% cotton Hahnemühle Photo Rag Fine Art matte paper. This series of black and white photographs captures the ...
Category

2010s American Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Emulsion, C Print, Rag Paper

Large Panoramic Black & White Photograph Signed American Ruins Maxwell Mackenzie
By Maxwell Mackenzie
Located in Surfside, FL
Fabulous American landscape photography of a rural school house. From series "American Ruins, Ghosts on the Landscape" "Near Pomme de Terre Lake, Grant County, Minnesota," from smal...
Category

1990s American Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Black and White

"Eiffel Tower" original framed and signed photograph by Roman Crescimanno
Located in Dallas, TX
This finely framed black and white photograph captures the iconic Eiffel Tower from a unique ground-level perspective, showcasing its grandeur and intricate details in stunning clari...
Category

2010s American Realist Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Recently Viewed

View All