Skip to content
Bernard Shea Horne, Design, 1916–1917. Abstract bell-shaped white object on its side.

1. Bernard Shea Horne, Design, 1916–1917

Bernard Shea Horne, Design, 1916–1917. Abstract composition featuring a black cube, a potted plant, and a ball on a woven basket-like surface.

2. Bernard Shea Horne, Design, 1916–1917

Paul Strand, Bowls, ​1916. Four white bowls overlapping with dramatic shadows.

3. Paul Strand, Bowls, 1916

Daniel Masclet, Quelques Fleurs, ​1927. A shallow glass bowl with a handful of white flowers.

4. Daniel Masclet, Quelques Fleurs1927

Daniel Masclet, Nature Morte, ​c. 1926. Looking down on a surface with a ceramic bowl of five eggs, a bottle of liquor, and a glass decanter.

5. Daniel Masclet, Nature Mortec. 1926

Harold Haliday Costain, Crystal Curves II, ​1934. Abstract composition featuring three glass vessels and their shadows.

6. Harold Haliday Costain, Crystal Curves II, 1934

Harold Haliday Costain, Crystal Fantasy, 1935. Various crystal glasses and decanters arranged in a diagonal composition from top-left to lower-right of the frame.

7. Harold Haliday Costain, Crystal Fantasy, 1935

Margaret Bourke-White, Mechanical Nuts, c. 1930. Close-up from above of an arrangement of six mechanical nuts.

8. Margaret Bourke-White, Mechanical Nuts, c. 1930

Gordon Coster, Wire Sculpture, ​c. 1935. Gordon Coster, Wire Sculpture, c. 1935. Abstract photo of a bundle of wire with long shadows spanning the frame.

9. Gordon Coster, Wire Sculpture, c. 1935

Claude Tolmer, Photogram (Inkwell & Flowers), ​c. 1933. White silhouettes on a black background of three flowers and a small vessel.

10. Claude Tolmer, Photogram (Inkwell & Flowers), c. 1933

Bert Stern, Martini & Pyramid, for Smirnoff Vodka, ​1955. Martini glass on sand with a triangle shape out of focus in the background.

11. Bert Stern, Martini & Pyramid, for Smirnoff Vodka, 1955

Daniel Masclet, Pistil de fleur, ​1927. Close up of the center of a spotted flower.

12. Daniel Masclet, Pistil de fleur1927

Gordon Coster, The Spigot & the Shadows, ​1927. A white saucepan below a spigot with long shadows going to the right.

13. Gordon Coster, The Spigot & the Shadows, 1927

Edward Quigley, Ellipsoid, ​1931. A hard-boiled egg rests beneath the wires of a metal slicing tool.

14. Edward Quigley, Ellipsoid, 1931

Edward Quigley, Still Life, ​1938. A lit white candle stands in front of three overlapping sheets of paper.

15. Edward Quigley, Still Life, 1938

Edward Quigley, Peony, ​1935. A peony in a glass vase sits on the lower right of the frame, casting a larger shadow to the left on the wall behind it.

16. Edward Quigley, Peony, 1935

Hi Williams, Untitled, ​c. 1935. Color still life composition with a large bowl of fruit and a ceramic mug and metal spoon on a saucer.

17. Hi Williams, Untitled, c. 1935

Hi Williams, Untitled, c. 1937. Color still life composition of a tray table featuring a glass of milk, a halved citrus fruit, an egg, flowers, bread, utensils, etc.

18. Hi Williams, Untitled, c. 1937

Hi Williams, Rubber Dalí, ​1941. Composition of various rubber objects on sand with a blue sky and clouds painted background.

19. Hi Williams, Rubber Dalí, 1941

Hi Williams, Untitled, ​c. 1937. Pink and purple flowers in a small white vessel against a reflective black surface.

20. Hi Williams, Untitled, c. 1937

Hi Williams, Untitled, ​c. 1937. Mostly white composition with a marble head sculpture, a vase with a pink flower, and an egg on white fabric.

21. Hi Williams, Untitled, c. 1937

Claude Tolmer, Still Life, ​c. 1933. Small head sculpture with eyeglasses placed on it, resting on a book with "Picasso" on the spine.

22. Claude Tolmer, Still Life, c. 1933

Claude Tolmer, Cut Paper Abstraction, ​c. 1933. Two mirrored silhouettes of a woman's face.

23. Claude Tolmer, Cut Paper Abstraction, c. 1933

Brassaï, Atelier de Picasso, ​c. 1933. A shelf on a wall featuring various glass bottles, wire sculptures, and paint brushes. Three prints of the same face hang below it.

24. Brassaï, Atelier de Picassoc. 1933

Claude Tolmer, Composition, ​1936. Marble sculpture of a woman's head in two overlapping views. Mesh netting casts a shadow.

25. Claude Tolmer, Composition1936

Claude Tolmer, Composition photo et papier, ​1934. Cut out print of soldiers composed beneath a black bridge-like shape.

26. Claude Tolmer, Composition photo et papier1934

Edward Steichen, Cigarettes (Textile pattern of Stehli Silk), ​1926. Twelve groups of three cigarettes arranged (alternating) horizontally and vertically to form squares.

27. Edward Steichen, Cigarettes (Textile pattern of Stehli Silk), 1926

Edward Steichen, Matches and Match Boxes (Textile pattern for Stehli Silk), ​1926. Matches arranged on a flat surface to look as if bursting from the match boxes.

28. Edward Steichen, Matches and Match Boxes (Textile pattern for Stehli Silk), 1926

Edward Steichen, Tacks (Textile pattern for Stehli Silk), ​1926. A criss-crossing pattern is formed by long shadows cast from tacks laying on a flat surface.

29. Edward Steichen, Tacks (Textile pattern for Stehli Silk), 1926

Margaret Bourke-White, Each hog is singed by cleansing jets of flame, 1929. A hog carcass hangs by its rear legs in a dark chamber.

30. Margaret Bourke-White, Each hog is singed by cleansing jets of flame, 1929

Bernard Shea Horne, Untitled, c. 1916–1917. A white vessel on a black surface in the corner of two walls. It casts a shadow on the left wall.

31. Bernard Shea Horne, Untitled, c. 1916–1917

Daniel Masclet, Composition, ​c. 1926. Five eggs in a ceramic bowl photographed from above.

32. Daniel Masclet, Compositionc. 1926

Dr. Josef Gramm, Untitled (Daffodils), ​c. 1929. Silhouettes of seven daffodils facing right.

33. Dr. Josef Gramm, Untitled (Daffodils), c. 1929

Harold Haliday Costain, Calvert's Whiskey, c. 1937. Still life with Calvert's Special Reserve whiskey bottle, a glass with liquid and ice, and two cigarettes and a matchbook in a silver dish.

34. Harold Haliday Costain, Calvert's Whiskey, c. 1937

Harold Haliday Costain, Whitehouse and Hardy Shoes, ​1937. Brown and white brogue shoes beside a green hat in partial view.

35. Harold Haliday Costain, Whitehouse and Hardy Shoes, 1937

Harold Haliday Costain, Autumn Harvest, ​c. 1937. Color still life composition with various fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

36. Harold Haliday Costain, Autumn Harvest, c. 1937

Harold Haliday Costain, Advertising Display & Packaging, ​1937. Packaging for various convenience items (cigarettes, aspirin, coffee, etc.) arranged on a blue surface.

37. Harold Haliday Costain, Advertising Display & Packaging, 1937

Harold Haliday Costain, Ritz Crackers, ​c. 1937. "Ritz" and "Cheese Ritz" boxes on a blue and yellow surface. The "Ritz" box is tipped so that crackers have spilled out.

38. Harold Haliday Costain, Ritz Crackers, c. 1937

Herbert Matter, La pêche miraculeuse, ​c. 1930. Abstract photo collage featuring two faces, a cut paper house, netting, and stars.

39. Herbert Matter, La pêche miraculeusec. 1930

Claude Tolmer, Untitled (Matches), ​1933. An open matchbox surrounded by matches on a ridged surface.

40. Claude Tolmer, Untitled (Matches), 1933

Claude Tolmer, Untitled Photo Collage, ​1933. Cut paper collage resembling a bowl of fruit.

41. Claude Tolmer, Untitled Photo Collage, 1933

Herbert Matter, Solarized Cabbage, ​1943. Abstract head of cabbage on a white background.

42. Herbert Matter, Solarized Cabbage, 1943

Irving Penn, New York Still Life, 1947. Studio still life featuring eggs, grapes, cloth, a mug and liquor glass, teapot, etc.

43. Irving Penn, New York Still Life, 1947

Herbert Matter, Bread, ​c. 1950. Cracked loaf of bread photographed from above on a white background.

44. Herbert Matter, Bread, c. 1950

Rolf Tietgens, Artificial Landscapes, ​1942. An upright leather glove between two eggplants, one on its side and one upright.

45. Rolf Tietgens, Artificial Landscapes, 1942

Rolf Tietgens, Patricia Highsmith, ​1942. Image of a woman with closed eyes and hair spread as if laying down, superimposed on a still life with burned paper and a small window and chair tableau.

46. Rolf Tietgens, Patricia Highsmith, 1942

Mario Finazzi, Bottiglie, 'Hot Line,' ​1945. Four glass bottles of various sizes. Solarized image on white background.

47. Mario Finazzi, Bottiglie, 'Hot Line,' 1945

Kenneth Heilbron, Trompe L'Oeil, ​c. 1954. Still life featuring a key, ribbon, newspaper clipping, and matches against a wooden door.

48. Kenneth Heilbron, Trompe L'Oeilc. 1954

Kenneth Heilbron, Trompe L'Oeil, ​c. 1954. Still life featuring a postcard and envelope, a key, toothpick, pennies, matches, and string against a wooden surface.

49. Kenneth Heilbron, Trompe L'Oeil, ​c. 1954

Press Release

Keith de Lellis Gallery presents a group exhibition of vintage still life photographs from the first half of the twentieth century, featuring Paul Strand, Edward Steichen, Margaret Bourke-White, Irving Penn, Herbert Matter, and others. The exhibition presents various types of still life imagery, going beyond fine art photography to include industrial, advertising, and surrealist photographs. The clean lines and strict organization of advertising compositions draw a contrast to the dramatic, experimental art and surrealist imagery.

 

Among the featured photographs is a 1916 photogravure of Bowls by Paul Strand. Additionally, a very early print of Irving Penn’s New York Still Life (1947) will be on view, as well as a rare print of Edward Steichen’s Matches and Match Boxes, which was used to create silk fabric in 1926.

The group includes a variety of photographic processes, such as gelatin silver prints, platinum prints, and rare three-color carbro prints used by Hi Williams and Harold Haliday Costain to create vivid color photographs for advertising and fine art.