Front / Recto

  • Title Vortograph of Ezra Pound
  • Negative Date 1916–17
  • Print Date 1916–20
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 2 15/16 × 3 15/16" (7.5 × 10 cm)
    Sheet 3 3/16 × 4 3/16" (8.1 × 10.6 cm)
  • Place Taken London
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1657.2001
  • Copyright © George Eastman House

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 25-25-92.
  • Provenance The artist, London. Warren Coville, Sarasota, Fla. [1]; to James Danziger Gallery, New York, 1996–97 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, October 1997 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] James Danziger, e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, May 1, 2014.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] James Danziger Gallery invoice no. 2240, October 18, 1997.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Contact print
  • 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 Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.28
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Rag 77%
    Bast 23%
    Grass
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Baryta-less paper
  • 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, Cl, Ca, Cr, Fe, Zn, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Cr, Fe, Zn, Ba

    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, Si, P, S, Cl, Ca, Cr, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn

In Context

Related Images

Alvin Langdon Coburn. Vortograph of Ezra Pound. 1917. Gelatin silver print, 7 3/4 x 6" (20.2 x 15.5 cm). Gift of Alvin Langdon Coburn. George Eastman House, Rochester

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