Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz was one of the most important cultural forces in twentieth-century America. He described himself in 1921 as "an American. Photography is my passion. The search for truth my obsession." As a photographer, editor, and gallery director, Stieglitz was a powerful--often domineering--influence on photography and art. As founder of the PhotoSecession movement and editor of the influential Camera Work, he eschewed the prevailing "artiness" of pictorialist photography, preferring a clarity of vision, a "crystallized awareness." In galleries such as "291" and An American Place which he directed, he introduced modern artists from this country and Europe. His own work was a seminal force, inspiring clut-like devotion; the noted curator and scholar Ananda Coomoraswamy said of Stieglitz, "His art is absolute the way Bach's music is absolute." He is best known for his winter scenes in New York and Paris, his luminous landscapes at Lake George, his portraits of Georgia O'Keeffe and Dorothy Norman, and his elusive Equivalents. His study of the expressiveness of forms and the subtleties of light won him great acclaim. Alfred Stieglitz presents forty-one of the artist's most significant photographs, spanning his career. Photographer Dorothy Norman, Stieglitz's close associate and working partner, has written an intimate and comprehensive text.