title:
J. Piermont Morgan

artist: Edward Steichen

year:
ca. 1903

size:
13 1/2" x 10 1/2"

process:
vintage gelatin silver print

marks:
signed in pencil

description:
When J.P. Morgan saw a proof of this image, he tore it up, an act which infuriated Steichen. However, when Morgan's librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, saw the photograph, she proclaimed it the best portrait of Morgan in any medium. Eventually, Morgan relented and ordered prints of this image. (Sotheby's)