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The Sphinx
About the Artwork
The son of a wealthy banker, Greene was an American but born and raised in Paris. At a young age, he became an avid archaeologist focusing on the Middle East. Before embarking on his first trip to Egypt in 1853 at age 19, he learned photography so he could accurately document excavations, discoveries, and inscriptions, but he also used the relatively new medium to produce elegant landscapes such as the view of Thebes nearby. Greene, who was involved in excavations of the Great Sphinx, died in Cairo in 1856, possibly of tuberculosis.
Inscriptions
mprinted in lower left of image: "M: 46" Imprinted in lower right of image: "John Beasley Greene" Written in pencil on recto of mount: "75" Written in pencil on recto of mount: "M-46" Written in pencil on verso of mount: "YE1356" Written in pencil on lower right (then erased): "J" Imprinted on verso: "e" with the remaining inscription removed
Provenance
Estate of Jonathan Stein, a New York photography collector active during the 1980s and 1990s; [Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA]
Exhibition history
Pyramids & Sphinxes: Views of Egypt. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-May 24, 2016).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- John Beasley Greene (American, 1832–1856)
- Date
- c. 1853
- Medium
- salted paper print from waxed paper negative
- Dimensions
- Image: 23.2 x 29.6 cm (9 1/8 x 11 5/8 in.); Mounted: 39.8 x 56.5 cm (15 11/16 x 22 1/4 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
- Accession no.
- 2009.277
More by John Beasley Greene in museum collections
Tombeau de la chrétienne. Vue du côté nord. (Tomb of the Christian Woman. View of the North Side.)
John Beasley Greene1855 · Photograph
Medinet Habu, Mortuary Temple of Ramses III, Left Wall (Médinet-Habou, Temple funéraire de Ramsès III, paroi gauche
John Beasley Greene1854 · Photograph
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00013025
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