Aaron Siskind (American, 1903-1991) Rome 49, 1963 Gelatin silver print, printed later 9-3/4 x 12-1/4 inches (24.8 x 31.1 cm) (image) 11 x 14 inches (sheet) Signed, titled, and dated in pencil, verso. PROVENANCE: The artist; Abe Frajndlich, gift from the above, circa 1989. In 1974 I applied to the Rhode Island School of Design, where both Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan were on the Photography Department faculty. I was not accepted, but a couple of years later, after my first book, Figments, was published, I was invited to come and speak to Aaron's class. The first thing I told the students is that I had been rejected for the program, but was now here by invitation to lecture about my work. Aaron and I bonded over this irony and became friends over time. When I came to photograph him for a LIFE Magazine assignment in 1988, we picked up our friendship, and I was able to bring him many clients for his prints. To thank me, he gave me a fair number of his mages. Needless to say, I was flipped by his generosity, and a number of my friends still have those photographs on their walls. This 1963 photograph from Rome can easily live next to a painting by Rothko or Kline in the way Siskind sees the abstraction of the wall, and specifically isolates the first five letters of ITALIA without the last "A" which places the viewer deep into the rich visual world of Italy. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice