Though he began his artistic career as a painter, training at the Académie Julian in Paris, Edward Steichen is also known for his role in revolutionizing photography from a commercial tool into an artistic medium.
Famed artist and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz often featured Steichen’s artwork in the magazine Camera Work, published from 1903 to 1917 as photography gained popularity. Over the years, Steichen served as the chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair as well as the Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Steichen’s dramatic, highly stylized compositions and curatorial eye catapulted photography into greater prestige. An art critic quipped in 1905: "One should not say that he recalls Rembrandt but rather, at this rate, that Rembrandt will, in time, remind us of Steichen."
As Steichen shifted his artistic focus to photography, he destroyed nearly all of his painted compositions. Beethoven represents one of the very few surviving paintings and is considered his most remarkable.
Simultaneously realistic and symbolic, Beethoven reflects Steichen’s unmistakable talent for composition, balance and hue. He completed the painting in 1902, immediately receiving critical praise for its commanding nature. Beethoven was hung prominently beside his photos at Steichen’s first solo show in June 1902 at La Maison des Artistes. The artwork was then proudly exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, and later at the "National Arts Club Special Exhibition of Contemporary Art" in 1908.
Find original Edward Steichen photography and other art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by M.S. Rau)
Three Pears and an Apple, France
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Three Pears and an Apple, France, c. 1921: The Early Years 1900-1927, 1981 photogravure on BFK Rives Paper image size: 13 x 10 inches paper size: 20 x 15 1/4 inches Edition of 500
Photogravure
Edward Steichen – Fred Astaire, 1927 –
By Edward Steichen
Located in Cologne, DE
Edward Steichen – Fred Astaire, 1927 – This iconic portrait of legendary entertainer Fred Astaire was taken in 1927 by Edward Steichen, one of the most influential photographers of ...
Silver Gelatin
Leslie Howard
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
c. 1930 Unsigned Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm) This artwork is offered by CLAMP, New York.
Silver Gelatin, Photography
Gary Cooper
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Unsigned Gelatin silver print 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm) This artwork is offered by CLAMP, New York.
Silver Gelatin, Photography
EDWARD STEICHEN A Life in Photography Hardcover Book 1984
By Edward Steichen
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
EDWARD STEICHEN A Life in Photography Hardcover Book 1984 Bonanza Crown Japan. Arguably one of the most influential American photographer of the twentieth century, this book chronicl...
Paper
Improvisation: "George Washington"
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Edition 78/100 Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art
Silver Gelatin
Eugene ONeill
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
George Washington Bridge, New York, 1931
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Titled in ink with ‘Photograph by Steichen, 139 East 69th Street, New York City' studio stamp on the reverse of the accompanying paper mount
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
George Washington Bridge, New York, 1931
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
John Barrymore as Hamlet
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
Printed, signed late 90's by George Tice.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Katherine Cornell
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
Printed, signed late 90's by George Tice.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Martha Graham #4, NY
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Greta Garbo, Hollywood
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
In his autobiography, A Life in Photography, Steichen gave a vivid recount of this sitting: 'When Garbo came in to pose for the Vanity Fair photograph, I asked her to sit on the c...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Greta Garbo, Hollywood
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
In his autobiography, A Life in Photography, Steichen gave a vivid recount of this sitting: 'When Garbo came in to pose for the Vanity Fair photograph, I asked her to sit on the c...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Stieglitz and Kitty, New York, 1904
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Roots, Foster Gardens, Honolulu
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the mount beneath the image. Printed in 1948 in an edition of 75 numbered copies. This print is from presentation set #33. Po...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$5,000
H 11 in W 14 in
Eve Babitz and Marcel Duchamp playing chess during Duchamp's Pasadena Art Museum
By Julian Wasser
Located in New York, NY
Listing is for an unframed print and includes free shipping to the continental US and 14-day return policy. Julian Wasser Eve Babitz and Marcel Duchamp pl...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$150 / item
H 14.1 in W 10.2 in D 1.8 in
Sebastião Salgado's Amazônia: A Photography Book in Hardcover
By Sebastião Salgado, TASCHEN
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Hardcover Photography book, 14.1 x 10.2 in., 9.21 lb, 528 pages. For six years Sebastião Salgado traveled the Brazilian Amazon and photographed th...
Paper
Bea with a whip at The Other Side
By Nan Goldin
Located in New York, NY
Nan Goldin Bea with a whip at The Other Side 1973 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches; 36 x 28 cm Edition of 100 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower right verso) ...
Silver Gelatin
$3,553
H 9.45 in W 11.82 in
Nude Paris Willy Ronis 20th Century French Humanist photography black and white
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$150 / item
H 14.7 in W 11 in D 2 in
Ferrari by Pino Allievi. Hardcover Book with Leatherette Binding.
By TASCHEN
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Il Fascino Ferrari - A monument to Italy’s driving force. Few men, women or brand names have come to define a century. For seven decades and counting, the Italian powerhouse founded...
Foil
$4,825
H 30 in W 20 in
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
By John Stoddart 1
Located in New York, NY
This 1991 fine art print features Catherine Zeta-Jones when she was a TV actress in Britain and aspiring to be a Hollywood Star. Her success in The Darling Buds of May (English comed...
Silver Gelatin
$563Sale Price|20% Off
H 13 in W 10.04 in D 0.99 in
Antique Royal Book, Sixty Years a Queen, History Reference, Hardcover, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique copy of Sixty Years a Queen by Sir Herbert Maxwell Bart, published in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. This richly detailed royal record chron...
Paper
$4,500
H 16 in W 24 in
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller
By Lawrence Schiller
Located in Culver City, CA
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller Silver Gelatin print Edition 57/75 Signed and numbered by the artist Printed later On Wednesday, May 23, 1962, Marilyn Monroe stepped onto the set of Something’s Got to Give to film what would become one of the most iconic and talked-about moments of her career: the now-legendary nude swimming pool scene. This extraordinary day—captured in a series of rare photographs by renowned photographer Lawrence Schiller—has since become a cornerstone of Hollywood history. Key moments that make this session truly historic: A Bold Cinematic First: Monroe spent nearly four hours in the pool on the 20th Century Fox lot, filming a sequence in which her character, Ellen Arden, appears to swim nude...
Silver Gelatin
$3,553
H 15.75 in W 11.82 in
The Hair Willy Ronis Humanist black and white photography woman naked nude
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Joan Didion, Hollywood, 1968 (Frame 33a.)
By Julian Wasser
Located in New York, NY
This is a limited edition 16 x 20 inch print of Joan Didion by photographer Julian Wasser shot for her iconic interview with TIME in 1968. Listing includes free shipping to the continental US and a 14-day return policy. Please inquire for framing options or international shipments. We offer framing services through our New York location. Joan Didion by Julian Wasser Gelatin Silver Print Paper Size: 16 x 20 inches Image Size: 11.5 x 17.5 inches Edition 9 of 15 Signed and on the back by Julian Wasser and editioned on adhesive certificate History Behind the Photograph - Julian Wasser started his career in photography in the Washington DC bureau of the Associated Press where he met and accompanied the famous news photographer Weegee – who would become a lasting influence on him. In the mid-60s Wasser moved to Los Angeles as a contract photographer for TIME, LIFE, and FORTUNE magazines and becoming internationally known as the go to guy for getting candid but memorably composed photographs. (His iconic images of Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston; Marcel Duchamp and Eve Babitz...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Portrait of Alfred Stieglitz
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
This is a photogravure that came out of a 1930's Camera Works. They are high quality prints from the artist's negatives and were put together in these historic spiral bound books. ...
Photogravure
Charlie Chaplin, Hat Trick #1
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Charlie Chaplin, Hat Trick #3
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Steel-work of the George Washington Bridge
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Isadora Duncan at the Portal of the Parthenon, Athens, 1921
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Anna May Wong, 1930
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Charlie Chaplin, 1928
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
These selenium toned silver gelatin prints are the photographs of Edward Steichen, printed by the renowned photographer George Tice. Tice was the last person to print for Steichen i...
Silver Gelatin
Xmas Greetings Mary Steichen, 1938
By Edward Steichen
Located in Long Island City, NY
"Xmas greetings Mary Steichen, 1938." A photograph by Edward Steichen, the girl possibly his granddaughter Linda Martin, probably sent as a Christmas card by his daughter Mary Steich...
Paper
Torso, Paris
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Torso, Paris, 1902 : The Early Years Portfolio, 1901–1927 photogravure Image Size: 6 1/2 x 8 3/8 inches Paper Size: 20 x 16 inches Ediiton of 500
Photogravure
Heavy Roses
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Heavy Roses, Voulangis, France, 1914 photogravure image size: 8 x 10 inches paper size: 20 x 15 1/4 inches Edition of 500
Photogravure
Wheelbarrow With Flower Pots
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Edition 78/100 Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art
Sunday Night, 40th Street
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Edition 78/100 Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art