Front / Recto
- Title Mardi Gras
- Negative Date 1936
- Print Date 1936–40
- Medium Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions Image 6 3/8 × 8 7/16" (16.2 × 21.5 cm)Sheet 7 15/16 × 9 15/16" (20.2 × 25.3 cm)
- Place Taken New Orleans
- Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Peter MacGill, by exchange
- MoMA Accession Number 1856.2001
- Copyright © 2015 Estate of Peter Sekaer
Back / Verso
- Mount Type No mount
- Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: PF 27605. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: PA8.
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Provenance
The artist; by inheritance to the artist’s wife, Elizabeth Sekaer Rothschild (d. 2001), 1950 [1]; through the artist’s daughter, Christina Sekaer, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., to Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 1999 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, March 19, 1999 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Alicia Colen (Howard Greenberg Gallery), e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 25, 2013.
[2] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 20; and Colen, e-mail to Hambourg.
[3] Howard Greenberg Gallery invoice no. 99-333, March 19, 1999.
Surface
- Surface Sheen Semireflective
- Techniques Enlargement
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PTM
View of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA -
Micro-raking
Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Paper Material
- Format Unknown
- Weight Single weight
- Thickness (mm) 0.20
- UV Fluorescence Recto negative Verso negative
- Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 96% Hardwood bleached sulfite 4%
- Material Techniques Developing-out paper
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XRF
This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.
The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):
- Recto: Al, P, S, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
- Verso: Al, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ba, Pb
The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).
Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Al, P, S, Ca, Ag, Ba
Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb
In Context
Related Images
Peter Sekaer. Jane Addams Housing Project, Hull House, Chicago. 1940. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/2 x 13" (24.1 x 33 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © Estate of Peter Sekaer
Peter Sekaer. Jewish Tenants in Williamsburg Housing Project. 1939. Gelatin silver print, 10 5/16 x 13 1/8" (26.2 x 33.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © Estate of Peter Sekaer
Related People
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Artist
