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Speed Demachy, Robert  (French, 1859-1936)

Camera Work Number VII was described by Stieglitz as “the gum print” number as it gathered representative examples of that typically pictorialist printing process from three different photographers: the Hofmeisters, Demachy and Steichen. About the Frenchman’s works, Stieglitz wrote: “The two pictures by M. Robert Demachy speak for themselves. From the father of gum-printing these prints, together with his article thereon, must prove of exceptional value to the student.” These pictures were two of Demachy’s masterpieces, a study of artificial lighting depicting two young girls dressed as ballet dancers (Behind the Scenes) and a Turnerian snapshot full of atmosphere and modernity (Speed).

Reproduced / Exhibited

Camera Work, A Pictorial Guide, Dover, 1978, pg 17

Camera Work Stieglitz, Steichen, and Their Contemporaries, Photofile Thames & Hudson, 1991, pl 12

Camera Work, The Complete Illustrations 1903-1917, Taschen, 1997 pg179

Hirsch, Robert, Seizing The Light, A History of Photography, McGraw Hill, New York, 2000, pl 9.3

Hopkinson, Tom. Treasures of the Royal Photographic Society 1839-1919. London, 1980. p. 155

PhotoHistorica, Landmarks in Photography, Artisan, NY ,2000 pg196

Treasures of the Royal Photographic Society 1839-1919, Tom Hopkinson, Focal Press, 1980, pg 155