Accession Number1983/1.286
TitleThe Holland House
Artist(s)Alvin Langdon CoburnArtist NationalityBritish (modern)Object Creation Date1910Medium & Supportphotogravure on paperDimensions 8 7/16 in x 6 1/8 in (21.43 cm x 15.56 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.51 cm x 49.21 cm);8 3/8 in x 6 3/16 in (21.27 cm x 15.72 cm);7 15/16 in x 5 13/16 in (20.16 cm x 14.76 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Marvin Felheim CollectionLabel copyA native of Boston, Coburn began taking photographs as a child. He traveled to London in 1899 where he joined the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring, a British photographic society that advocated the pictorialist aesthetic. He studied photography under the tutelage of his cousin, noted British photographer Frederick Holland Day. Upon his return to the United States in 1902, Coburn opened a photography studio in New York and became known to Alfred Stieglitz. Coburn’s photogravures appeared in Stieglitz’s publication Camera Work. A fierce champion of pictorial photography, Coburn eventually split from Stieglitz’s circle as the supporters of pictorialism became divided.
Carole McNamara, Assistant Director for Collections & Exhibitions
on the occasion of the exhibition New York Observed: The Mythology of the City
(July 13 – September 22, 2003)
This image of the Holland House hotel is reproduced (pl. 15) in Coburn's "New York," published in 1910.
Subject matterThis photograph appeared in Coburn's portfolio
New York (1910), which followed the publication of a similar city-focused body of work
London (1910). In both books, Coburn published images of the respective cities, focusing on the architecture and atmosphere of the modern city. He often includes human subjects dwarfed by large structures. In
The Holland House, pedestrians and carriages are seen silhouetted in the foreground, while the building's architecture fills the majority of the vertical frame.
Physical DescriptionA photograph of the Holland House in New York City. Below the building is a wintery street; silhouetted pedestrians and carriages travel in front of the large hotel.
Primary Object ClassificationPhotographCollection AreaPhotographyRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
Figures
New York City
Urban life
buildings
carriages (vehicles)
cart
cityscapes (representations)
high-rise buildings
horses
hotels (public accommodations)
modern and contemporary art
pedestrians
snow (precipitation)
streets
walking