Otto Rosenheim (Germany, 1871 - 1955)
Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1906
Gelatin silver print, 20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.)
Commentary
While she collected and created photographs throughout much of her life, Isabella Stewart Gardner rarely sat for professional photographers. This portrait of Gardner holding a large, unclasped volume in her hands was taken by Dr. Otto Rosenheim, a noted biochemist and amateur photographer, in London in 1906. Several years later, the photographer wrote to Gardner to ask if she might autograph a print for him to send to art historian Bernard Berenson, who was “delighted” with the original image.
