Front / Recto

  • Title Vortex
  • Negative Date January 1932
  • Print Date 1932–34
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 13 3/4 x 10 13/16" (34.9 x 27.4 cm)
  • Place Taken Philadelphia
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1815.2001

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 5380. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top right: TW 890605. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: VORTEX/1/18/32/DELPHIC STUDIOS 11/34.
  • Provenance The artist; to the artist's estate [1]; to Jane Bunker, New Jersey [2]; to Keith de Lellis, New York [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, June 1989 [4]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Keith de Lellis, telephone conversation with Simon Bieling, June 22, 2004.
    [2] Ibid.; and de Lellis, letter to Audrey Sands, October 26, 2013.
    [3] de Lellis, telephone conversation with Bieling.
    [4] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 890605 on sheet verso.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
  • PTM
    Detail 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 Imperial
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 94%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 6%
  • Material Techniques Developing-out 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, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, 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, P, S, Cl, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

In Context

Related Images

Edward W. Quigley. Vortex. Reproduced on the cover of Camera 51 (October 1935).

Historical Publications

  • Camera 51 (October 1935): cover (as Vortex).

Historical Exhibitions

  • Philadelphia Art Alliance. Solo exhibition of photographs by Edward Quigley. June 1932.

    Delphic Studios, New York. Designs with Light. Solo exhibition of light abstractions by Edward Quigley (no. 27, as Vortex). November 1934

    Cleveland Museum of Art (no. 42, as Vortex). December 12, 1934–January 13, 1935.

Related People

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