Edward Steichen was born in Luxembourg in 1879, and emigrated to America with his family in 1881. Coming from an artistic background, he bought his first camera in 1895. He met Alfred Steiglitz in 1900 who was already a famous established photographer and Steiglitz, impressed by Steichen’s work, bought three of his photographs.
Steiglitz published Camera Work, a quarterly magazine, from January 1903 to 1917. This promoted the Pictorialist soft focus approach expounded by Steiglitz in his own photographs and writings. The magazine tried to promote photography as fine art and featured the works of the most eminent photographers of the time. Steichen was the most prolific contributor to the magazine having photographs published throughout its life.[1]
The Pond – Moonlight (1904). ©Edward Steichen Collection 1904[2]
During this time Steichen created one of his most famous photographs. The Pond – Moonlight (1904), which incorporated colour by applying light sensitive gums to the paper. This was the most expensive photograph to be auctioned fetching $2.9 million in 2006.
In 1923 Steichen took the job as chief photographer for Conde Nast contributing to Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines. Steiglitz felt he had sold out to the commercial world. Changing his style Steichen moved away from the soft focus Pictorialist style, adopting the direct, pin sharp focus of the Modernists.[1]
It is the iconic portrait of Gloria Swanson that attracted me. Having decided to photograph through a wet rain splattered window, this gave a new twist to the idea of having something else between the face and the camera. The image is pin sharp, the gaze still, engaging and captivating.
Gloria Swanson (1924). ©Edward Steichen Collection[3]
Influences: It is the Gloria Swanson image that inspired me to try portraiture for this module. I think this is a beautiful image and so I have experimented using scarves and fine material to swathe my models.
References
[1] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/edward-steichen-in-vogue-125189608/?no-ist
[2] http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/stei/hd_stei.htm
[3] http://www.theenglishgroup.co.uk/blog/2013/02/03/gloria-swanson-by-edward-steichen/
Digital Portraiture, Tableau and Still Life 