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Original 4.25 x 6.5 cabinet bust portrait, signed and inscribed on the reverse in black ink to Laura Sedgwick Collins, a student of his at the National Conservatory, “Antonin Dvorák, New York 18 [sic] 18/5 94.” Some light surface marks and small chips to bottom edge, subtle toning on reverse, which has been professionally cleaned (the effect of which is wholly unobtrusive), otherwise fine condition. The image, which has been reproduced in a number of sources, including the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, was originally taken in Spillville, Iowa, in 1893.
From 1892 to 1895, Dvorak was the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, earning a then-staggering annual salary $15,000. His main goal at the time was to discover ‘American music’ and use it in his works, much as he had earlier with Czech folk music. At the time this image was taken, he and his family were in the Czech-speaking community of Spillville, the town to which some of his cousins had immigrated. While there, he composed the String Quartet in F (’American’), and the String Quintet in E flat, as well as a Sonatina for violin and piano. He also conducted a performance of his Eighth Symphony at the 1883 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. A familiar image signed by one of the greats. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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