One photograph: Three 20th Century Icons

Edward Steichen, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gareth Jones

This half-portrait photograph was taken by Edward Steichen (1879-1973) and is of the most famous of all American architects, who just happened to have Welsh ancestry; we are of course referring to Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959).

Luxembourg-born American photographer Edward Steichen was one of the most influential figures in 20th Century photography and one of the highest paid working for Vogue and Vanity Fair. Famous portrait sitters include Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and J P Morgan. Steichen took some of the most well-known photographs of Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin, Wright' famous home in Wisconsin.This image became one of the most iconic portraits of the architect and has been widely reproduced in books and museum collections.

But the importance of this single photo does not stop there!

The back of the photograph is signed by Lloyd Wright and dedicated 'To Gareth Jones'. And that's Gareth Jones the renown Welsh journalist, full name Gareth Richard Vaughan Jones (1905-1935) who is best known for reporting on the Holodomor, the devastating famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932-33. 

Initially, Jones' reports were met with skepticism and resistance but over time his reporting was recognised as accurate and courageous. In 1935, Jones was kidnapped and murdered in Inner Mongolia under mysterious circumstances. It is suspected that there was Soviet involvement in the murder but it has never been proven.

The photograph is to be offered in our Welsh Sale auction on April 19th. Please enquire for further details