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Edward Steichen Art

American, 1879-1973

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)

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Artist: Edward Steichen
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
Category

1920s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Photogravure

Eugene ONeill
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art
Category

20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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
Category

20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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
Category

1930s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

George Washington Bridge, New York, 1931
By Edward Steichen
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer
Category

1930s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Fred Astaire in 'Funny Face', 1927 - Edward Steichen (Photography)
By Edward Steichen
Located in London, GB
Inscribed with photographer's credit, title and date and various annotations in pencil, stamped with Museum of Modern Art Department of Photography and Vogue ink stamps and dated on ...
Category

2010s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

John Barrymore as Hamlet
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
Printed, signed late 90's by George Tice.
Category

1920s Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Katherine Cornell
By Edward Steichen
Located in Westwood, NJ
Printed, signed late 90's by George Tice.
Category

1930s Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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...
Category

Early 20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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...
Category

1920s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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...
Category

1920s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

First Cast of Brancusi's "Bird in Space"
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...
Category

Early 20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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...
Category

Early 20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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Untitled
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Silver Gelatin Photograph Hand Signed Photo Pablo Picasso w Baby Lucien Clergue
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Four years later, at a corrida in Arles, he showed his photographs to Spanish painter Pablo Picasso who, though subdued, asked to see more of his work. Within a year and a half, young Clergue worked on his photography with the goal of sending more images to Picasso. During this period, he worked on a series of photographs of travelling entertainers, acrobats and harlequins, the Saltimbanques. He also worked on a series whose subject was carrion. On 4 November 1955 Lucien Clergue visited Picasso in Cannes, France. Their friendship lasted nearly 30 years until Picasso's death. Clergue's autobiographical book, Picasso My Friend, looks back on important moments of their relationship. In 1968, and with his friend Michel Tournier, Clergue founded the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival which is held annually in July in Arles. He exhibited his work at the festival during the years 1971–1973, 1975, 1979, 1982–1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2003 and 2007. 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White Rose
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Previously Available Items
Portrait of Alfred Stieglitz
By Edward Steichen
Located in Greenwich, CT
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. ...
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1910s Aesthetic Movement Edward Steichen Art

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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...
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Early 20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

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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...
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20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

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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...
Category

Edward Steichen Art

Materials

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...
Category

Early 20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

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...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

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...
Category

1920s Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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
Category

Early 1900s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

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
Category

1910s Edward Steichen Art

Materials

Photogravure

Wheelbarrow With Flower Pots
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
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Contemporary Edward Steichen Art

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Edward Steichen art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Edward Steichen art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Edward Steichen in silver gelatin print, archival pigment print, intaglio and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Edward Steichen art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Silvia Lareo-Vazquez, Michael O'Brien, and Cindy Sherman. Edward Steichen art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $750 and tops out at $15,000, while the average work can sell for $6,000.

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