JOHAN HAGEMEYER (1884–1962)

Soon after arriving in the United States from his native Holland in 1911, Hagemeyer sought out Alfred Stieglitz, driven by how impressed he was with Stieglitz's preeminent photographic journal, Camera Work. Hagemeyer likewise impressed Stieglitz, which was a sign that the then-amateur photographer would find success in the U.S. This important initial introduction led to many others for Hayemeyer, including those to Anne Brigman and Edward Weston. By the time of the making of this present image, Hagemeyer had purchased a lot of land at Carmel-by-the-Sea, the intellectual and artistic community south of San Francisco and was fully entrenched in the lively San Francisco art world. This dramatic, sensual botanical still life is one of a handful of floral studies made during his career, and is a beautifully mounted and signed early print.