Lot #592: WEEGEE [arthur h. fellig] - Simply Add Boiling Water - Original vintage photogravure

 

Artist: Weegee [arthur h. fellig] (Ukranian/American, 1899-1968).
Title: "Simply Add Boiling Water".
Medium: Original vintage photogravure.
Date: Composed 1937. Printed 1945.
Dimensions: Image size: 8 3/4 x 6 1/16 in. (222 x 154 mm).
Lot Note(s): Stamped with the photographer's name, verso. Edition unknown, presumed small. High-grade archival paper. Printed to the edge of the sheet. Fine, quality printing. Very good to fine condition; affixed to very thin and supple archival acid-free support sheet, not mount/board. Comment(s): A dramatic nighttime fire at a New York City kitchen products factory provided Weegee with an opportunity to exhibit some wry humor. Just below where the water cannons douse the fire, and almost centered in the frame, a sign reads "SIMPLY ADD BOILING WATER." Weegee's intentionally ironic composition enhanced his chance of selling the image to newspapers, something that was always in the forefront of his mind as a freelance photographer (courtesy J. Paul Getty museum). Image copyright © International Center of Photography. [25971-1-400]