Untitled (Self-Portrait with Roger Parry)

Front / Recto

Title Untitled (Self-Portrait with Roger Parry)
Negative Date 1928–39
Print Date 1928–39
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 9 1/4 × 6 5/8" (23.5 × 16.8 cm)
Sheet 9 13/16 × 7 1/16" (25 × 18 cm)
Place Taken Paris
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1879.2001

Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
Marks and Inscriptions Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, center: PHOTO/Maurice TABARD/PARIS. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: 200.473. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: #1870. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: MT-GEH-040. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: LT16.
Provenance The artist, Paris. Marlborough Gallery, New York [1]; to Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, 1984 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, May 14, 1998 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 14; Edwynn Houk, conversation with Simon Bieling, New York, March 30, 2005; and Matthew Ortiz (Edwynn Houk Gallery), e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, April 30, 2014.
[2] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 14; and Ortiz, e-mail to Hambourg.
[3] Edwynn Houk Gallery receipt, May 14, 1998, signed by Thomas Walther, May 15, 1998.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Enlargement
Ferrotyping
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

Format Unknown
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 83%
Hardwood 14%
Rag 2%
Softwood bleached sulfite
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: S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Ca, Zn, Sr, 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, S, Ca, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag