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| WES with Jean Pearson by Robert S. Harrah - 1949 |
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| SUMMARY: W. Eugene Smith Photographs
Photograph Details Note:
To the best of my knowledge and with the references I have at my disposal, I have provided details of each photograph.
Photograph Details:
1. Jean Pearson
Unmounted. 14 x 11. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Published in Life Magazine, Hard Times on Broadway Essay, February 14, 1949. There were many pictures of Jean Pearson, later WES girlfriend, in Life's Theatre Girl Essay. I believe this one was the first published of her in Life. Apparently, not widely published otherwise.
2. Actors
Unmounted. 14 x 11. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Published in Life Magazine, Hard Times on Broadway Essay, February 14, 1949. Also published in reference 4).
3. Little Shaver
Unmounted. 14 x 11. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Published in Life Magazine, Hard Times on Broadway Essay, February 14, 1949. Also published in reference 4).
4. Dancers exercising on floor
Unmounted. 10 x 14. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Part of Hard Times on Broadway photo sessions. To my knowledge this photograph is unpublished.
5. Richard Rodgers in Auditorium
Unmounted. 11 x 14. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Part of Hard Times on Broadway photo sessions. Published in reference 4).
6. Dancer Posing
Unmounted. 14 x 9. The print is not signed, titled or identified in any way. Part of Hard Times on Broadway photo sessions. Published in reference 4).
7. Dancer Floor Stretch
Unmounted. 10 x 14. See photo of the reverse of the print. Gives credit to WES and has Life Magazine Stamp. Part of Hard Times on Broadway photo sessions. Same woman as in Dancer Posing photo. To my knowledge this photograph is unpublished.
Condition Reports:
Condition reports were prepared by Barbara Pope, Registrar, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, on February 26, 2008.
Appraisal:
An appraisal of these images was completed by Penelope Dixon & Associates on April 21, 2008.
Provenance:
My father, Robert S. Harrah, was W. Eugene Smith's assistant from December 1947 through summer 1949. This fact is well documented in references 1), 2) and 3) listed below. The 7 photographs currently for sale are part of a collection of 20 prints that were given to my father upon his departure to California from New York in 1949. This act, gift, is documented in reference 6) below. They are directly from the Smith studio in New York and were printed prior to or during 1949. The value I perceive in this collection is that they are prints made very close to the time the photos were taken, probably from the original negatives and not made later by Mr. Smith for reproduction or commercial purposes.
The prints have been faithfully stored by our family. Mr. Harrah donated 9 of the original 20 prints to MOPA in San Diego and were part of their opening exhibit of the W. Eugene Smith Collection in 1983. They continue to be a part of their permanent collection.
References:
1) Shadow and Substance, The Life and Work of an American Photographer, by Jim Hughes, McGraw-Hill, 1989.
2) W. Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay, by Glenn Willumson, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
3) W. Eugene Smith: Let Truth be the Prejudice, Aperture, 1985.
4) W. Eugene Smith, Master of the Photographic Essay, edited by William Johnson, Aperture, 1981.
5) W. Eugene Smith, His Photographs and Notes, Aperture, 1969.
6) Gene and Me.....and Photojournalism. by Robert S. Harrah.
This is an unpublished memoir of Robert Harrah's time with W. Eugene Smith. A copy of the memoir is part of the Robert S. Harrah Collection at the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. It is also extensively quoted in references 1), 2) and 3) listed above.
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