Photo-Secession
The Photo-Secession was the American arm of pictorial photography, conjured into existence in New York in February 1902 by Alfred Stieglitz. While organizing a photography show for the National Arts Club, he quarreled with its conservative members and swiftly assembled an invitation-only group to make his position look backed by many. Its creed: what matters in a photograph is not the subject before the lens but the photographer's manipulation of the image toward a personal vision. With Edward Steichen, Gertrude Käsebier, Clarence H. White and others, Stieglitz advanced the cause through the sumptuous journal Camera Work and, from 1905, the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession at 291 Fifth Avenue, which also gave early American exhibitions to Cézanne, Picasso and Matisse. The group kept exhibiting under its name until about 1910; tired of Stieglitz's autocratic ways, members drifted away, and he formally dissolved it in 1917.
Defining characteristics
- Soft focus and deliberate darkroom manipulation over documentary sharpness
- Hand-worked prints: gum bichromate, platinum, carbon, sepia toning
- Compositions drawn from painting - old-master poses, Greek and Roman subjects
- Dramatic lighting, monochrome and high-contrast tonal design
- The unique handcrafted print valued as the artwork
Key figures
- Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) — Founder and director; controlled membership, exhibitions and the journal Camera Work
- Edward Steichen (1879-1973) — Painter-photographer who co-founded the Little Galleries with Stieglitz
- Gertrude Käsebier (1852-1934) — Founding Fellow known for portraits of mothers and children
- Clarence H. White (1871-1925) — Soft-focus figure studies and an influential generation of students
- Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) — Later Fellow known for portraiture and city-scape series
Example works
- The Flatiron — Edward Steichen (1904)
- The Steerage — Alfred Stieglitz (1907)
- Blessed Art Thou Among Women — Gertrude Käsebier (1899)
Sources
- Photo-Secession - Wikipedia encyclopedia
- Camera Work - Wikipedia encyclopedia