James Craig Annan, Quarrymen, Toledo 1914

James Craig Annan

Quarrymen, Toledo 1914

The Spanish Series Portfolio

Photogravure (tissue), 10.6 x 20.5 cm, signed and titled by Annan 

In 1913, Annan traveled to Spain, accompanied by his friend, painter and etcher William Strang. Working side by side with Strang, Annan created the Spanish Series.  According to Weston Naef, in this series Annan retains his early love of subject in motion as well as posed portraiture of local types, showing concern for costume, coiffure and body ornament.  Annan's visual concerns were for light, shadow and motion more than the picturesque relics of Spain.

Although the series was never published, eight images were included by Stieglitz in one of the last issues of Camera Work (Camera Work XLV 1914) The issue was entirely devoted to Annan's work in Spain.  Stieglitz comments "Annan has never done any finer work. His work is always a delight. It is so straightforward. As an artist he continues to grow. The photogravures are by himself. They too demonstrate a decided growth in this line of work in which Annan has for years been a master." P. 44

Reference

Harker, Margaret F. The Linked Ring: The Secession Movement in Photography in Britain, 1892-1910. London: Heinemann, 1979.

Buchanan, William, The Art of the Photographer J. Craig Annan 1864-1946, National Galleries of Scotland, 1992

Buchanan, William. J. Craig Annan: Selected Texts and Bibliography. Oxford: Clio Press, 1994.

Naef, Weston J. The Collection of Alfred Stieglitz: Fifty Pioneers of Modern Photography. New York: Viking Press, 1978. Plate 3. Cat. 40.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, "Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz" New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spring 1978 

Taylor, John. Pictorial Photography in Britain, 1900-1920. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey, 1900.