Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Series III: Landscapes

Scope and Contents note

Series III is arranged into two subseries: Domestic Views - United States; and Foreign Views - Guatemala; thereunder it is arranged alphabetically by title or description of view. Each subseries is distinct in both style and composition (Domestic Views are in color, Foreign Views in black and white), having been taken at very different points in Genthe's career; the uniting factor is that both are of landscapes.

Domestic Views - United States are among the last prints Genthe made. In these, he experiments with the newest photographic technique, color photography, which was introduced for transparencies in 1935, just seven years before Genthe's death. It is estimated, then, that these were all taken between 1935 and 1942. Prints range from about 6 by 9 inches to 10 by 8 inches.

In contrast to Genthe's culturally significant shots of turn-of-the-century Chinatown or his dramatic portraits of actresses, dancers, and socialites, these prints are rather less accomplished from a technical point of view. Most are of gardens and trees, a friend's terrace, and a rolling landscape. Only one was taken at night, a colorful explosion of fireworks over the water.

Foreign Views - Guatemala appear to have been taken in 1927 (most of the photos are dated as such). The prints range from approximately 6 inches by 8 inches to 9 1/2 inches by 8 inches. It is likely they were shot in the city of Antigua, which, as Genthe notes in his autobiography, he was "particularly eager to explore"; the mountains in the background of several photographs further indicate this may be Antigua, a city that is set in a valley and surrounded by volcanic mountains. Many of the ten photographs in this subseries feature half-ruined cathedrals. In addition to capturing the ruined churches, Genthe also records some scenes of daily life in 1920s Guatemala: a man leading his oxen as they haul a cart; a woman (parcels balanced on her head) walking with a small boy past a cathedral; a barely clothed child standing on a dock at the edge of the water, palm trees waving overhead.

Domestic Views - United States

"Autumn Maple", undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 71 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

6-3/4 x 9-1/8 inches; signed "Arnold Genthe, N.Y."

[Blooming rhododendrons], undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 72 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7 x 9-5/16 inches

[Fair or expo building with palm trees and U.S. flag], undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 73 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

8-5/8 x 5-5/8 inches; original hanging mount from 1940 exhibition included in folder

[Fireworks over the water], undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 74 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7-3/16 x 5-3/8 inches

[Garden], undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 75 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-9/16 x 7-3/8 inches

[House and lily pond], undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 76 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

5-7/8 x 8-13/16 inches; signed "Arnold Genthe, N.Y."

"In the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia", undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 77 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7-5/16 x 9-3/8 inches; signed "Arnold Genthe, N.Y."

"Lake at Myron C. Taylor's Country Place", undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 78 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

5-7/16 x 8-3/8 inches; signed "Arnold Genthe, N.Y."

"Terrace in the Albert Herter Garden", undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 79 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7-1/2 x 9-5/16 inches

"The Woodhouse Water Garden", undated

Offsite-Box: 5, Box: 10, Folder: 80 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-3/8 x 7-9/16 inches; signed "Arnold Genthe, N.Y."; includes his studio label

Foreign Views -- Guatemala

[Child on dock, palm trees], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 81 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

8-7/8 x 6-5/8 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Cupola of cathedral], undated

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 82 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

8-15/16 x 7-1/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Debris inside ruined cathedral], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 83 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-7/16 x 7-7/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Interior of ruined cathedral], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 84 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-3/8 x 7-5/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Man with oxen], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 85 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7-3/16 x 9-1/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Men in overgrown courtyard], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 86 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

7-1/16 x 9-3/8 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Statue of Western female figure], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 87 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-1/16 x 7-5/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Stone cathedral], undated

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 88 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

6-1/4 x 8 inches; "Guatemala" inscribed on verso

[Trees in front of cathedral], 1927, inclusive

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 89 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

6-15/16 x 9-1/16 inches; "Guatemala, 1927" inscribed on verso

[Woman and boy carrying parcels past cathedral], undated

Offsite-Box: 6, Box: 11, Folder: 90 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General note

9-5/8 x 7-9/16 inches; "Guatemala" inscribed on verso

New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024