Richard Stefani (1933–2022)
From Before the Water Rose: Celilo Falls, 1956
There is an unusual amount of space in this photograph.
Richard Stefani gives much of the frame to water.
Two figures stand apart from one another on wooden platforms. Behind them, the river rises into a broad wall of white and pale green. Beyond it, the dry hills of the Columbia Gorge stretch beneath an overcast sky.
The photograph feels almost suspended.
Unlike some of Richard's more densely populated Celilo scenes, there is little here to distract the eye. The geometry is simple. Horizontal platforms meet vertical supports. Thin ropes and poles cross the water. Human figures stand against a river vastly larger than themselves.
Yet the men do not appear overwhelmed by the landscape.
They belong within it.
That may be one of the most important things Richard's photographs allow us to understand about Celilo. Photographs of dramatic landscapes often reduce people to scale markers. Here, the relationship is more complicated. The river is immense, but the people are not incidental.
The wooden structures, ropes, tools, and positions occupied above the current speak to knowledge acquired through experience.
Richard's photograph holds that relationship without explaining it.
He simply lets us look.
Estate Edition
Printed from Richard Stefani's original 1956 color negative.
Chromogenic photographic print on Fuji Crystal Archive DP II paper, produced in Germany and mounted under matte, reflection-reducing acrylic glass with aluminum Dibond backing. Presented in a handcrafted Basel black oak floater frame. Ready to hang.
Each work is accompanied by Richard Stefani Estate documentation recording the photograph, edition number, edition size, production specifications, and provenance.
10 × 10 in.
Edition of 25
$1,500
20 × 20 in.
Edition of 15
$3,200
30 × 30 in.
Edition of 10
$6,500
Edition sizes are fixed and will not be increased.
Richard Stefani (1933–2022)
From Before the Water Rose: Celilo Falls, 1956
There is an unusual amount of space in this photograph.
Richard Stefani gives much of the frame to water.
Two figures stand apart from one another on wooden platforms. Behind them, the river rises into a broad wall of white and pale green. Beyond it, the dry hills of the Columbia Gorge stretch beneath an overcast sky.
The photograph feels almost suspended.
Unlike some of Richard's more densely populated Celilo scenes, there is little here to distract the eye. The geometry is simple. Horizontal platforms meet vertical supports. Thin ropes and poles cross the water. Human figures stand against a river vastly larger than themselves.
Yet the men do not appear overwhelmed by the landscape.
They belong within it.
That may be one of the most important things Richard's photographs allow us to understand about Celilo. Photographs of dramatic landscapes often reduce people to scale markers. Here, the relationship is more complicated. The river is immense, but the people are not incidental.
The wooden structures, ropes, tools, and positions occupied above the current speak to knowledge acquired through experience.
Richard's photograph holds that relationship without explaining it.
He simply lets us look.
Estate Edition
Printed from Richard Stefani's original 1956 color negative.
Chromogenic photographic print on Fuji Crystal Archive DP II paper, produced in Germany and mounted under matte, reflection-reducing acrylic glass with aluminum Dibond backing. Presented in a handcrafted Basel black oak floater frame. Ready to hang.
Each work is accompanied by Richard Stefani Estate documentation recording the photograph, edition number, edition size, production specifications, and provenance.
10 × 10 in.
Edition of 25
$1,500
20 × 20 in.
Edition of 15
$3,200
30 × 30 in.
Edition of 10
$6,500
Edition sizes are fixed and will not be increased.
