Alberto Heredia. Buenos Aires. 1963.

Vintage gelatin silver print, loose. Dimensions: 21 x 17 cm. On the reverse, there is a handwritten inscription in pencil: “Foto Grete Stern” and “Heredia 1963.” The work is in good condition. From the Luis Priamo collection.

Resting on an irregular, organically shaped base is the body of a child—headless and wrapped in gauze—holding a jawbone (a dental cast) in its hands. The piece is set upon trestles, with a curtain visible in the background. It is assumed to have been photographed in Alberto Heredia’s own studio.

In 1963, while out riding in the countryside near Cañuelas, the Argentine sculptor suffered a serious accident. During his recovery and convalescence, the medical rituals involving bandages, casts, and gauze captured his attention. Heredia discovered in these protective materials a dramatic intensity and an aesthetic of confinement, which he decided to incorporate into his artistic practice. An idea emerged, which he then explored through his series *Los embalajes* (“The Packagings”). His unsettling, corrosive art anticipated the spiral of violence that would later unfold in Argentina during the 1970s.

Alberto Heredia (Buenos Aires, 1924–2000)—a painter and sculptor—received the Merit Award at the Henry Moore Grand Prize for Sculpture in 1981, held at the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Tokyo. In 1998, the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art organized a major retrospective of his work. In 2002, he was honored with the Konex Award of Honor, recognizing him as the most significant Argentine visual artist to have passed away during that decade. He had previously received the Konex Diploma of Merit in 1982 and 1992.

For information regarding the biography of Grete Stern, please refer to the entry above. As for its provenance, it carries an additional layer of value, having once been part of the collection of Luis Priamo. He has been a key figure in the cataloging, recovery, and dissemination of Stern’s work. He is the author of the book *Grete Stern: Obra fotográfica en la Argentina* (published in 1995 by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes) and served as the coordinator and curator of significant retrospective exhibitions—such as the presentation of the complete *Sueños* (Dreams) series, organized by the Fundación CEPPA and the Centro Cultural Recoleta (between December 2003 and January 2004)—as well as the author of essential critical essays on her archive.

Abel Alexander

President, Ibero-American Society for the History of Photography