Edward Steichen is one of the key figures in the history of photography. Beginning as a leading exponent of the 19th-century romantic movement called Pictorialism, Steichen metamorphosed rapidly into one of the leading lights of modernism. For more than half a century he occupied centre stage as the most famous living photographer, the medium’s first household name. However, until now Steichen, -- a Luxembourger by birth -- has never been the subject of a significant retrospective in Europe.
As a photographer of great renown in both amateur and professional circles, an editor, curator, horticulturalist, entrepreneur, promoter, and showman, Steichen’s reach was extraordinary. His picture-making interests and enthusiasms were extremely diverse: portraiture, the nude, flower photography, fashion, dance, theatre, still life, landscape and nature. He was one of the first to bridge the gap between creative photography and editorial, illustrational, and other applied usages of the medium.
The tension between 'art photography' and 'commercial photography' endures even today. Emblematic of that, Steichen remains a polarizing figure, which perhaps explains the lack of serious retrospective consideration until now. Younger people, however, are intrigued by his commitment to defending the commercial/utilitarian role of photography while championing with equal vigor its artistic potential. Hence this survey provides a most timely opportunity to reconsider Steichen’s various activities and their implications while focussing on the central but too-often overlooked component of his project – his five decades’ work as a photographer.
Original text: fep-paris.org/steichen.html
