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)
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
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
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
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
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
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
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...
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
Joan and Quintana Roo (Frame 27a.)
By Julian Wasser
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes free shipping for unframed prints and a 14 day return policy. Joan Didion by Julian Wasser 20 x 16 inch gelatin silver print Edition 3 of 15 Signed on verso by Julian Wasser *Please inquire for international shipments. Quotes will be provided at cost via FedEx. Description - 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; and a young Jodie Foster are already classics.) In 1968 TIME Magazine assigned Wasser to go to the home of the young writer Joan Didion whose book Slouching Towards Bethlehem was becoming a literary sensation. “I’d read her fiction,” said Wasser. “and she didn’t miss a thing. She was such a heavyweight person.” Wasser shot Didion at her rented house on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, where she lived with her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, and their daughter, Quintana Roo. “It was a nice, cozy house,” Wasser remembers. “And she was a very easy person to talk to...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$1,600
H 9.25 in W 7.63 in D 0.07 in
Orpheus #1 - Gelatin Silver Photograph Balanchine Ballet Classical Male Nudes
By George Platt Lynes
Located in Glenford, NY
George Platt Lynes 1948 Photograph #1 of Balanchine Ballet ‘Orpheus’. George Platt Lynes rare original vintage 1948 gelatin silver photograph (dated by the NY City Public Library) of nude dancers Francisco Moncion and Nicholas Magallanes in George Balanchine's iconic mid-20th Century ballet 'Orpheus'. Stamped on verso in dark blue ink at upper center, "GEORGE PLATT LYNES/145 EAST 52 STREET NEW YORK”. Photo shoot took place in NYC. Costumes and Set by ISAMU NAGUCHI. Photo is 7 5/8 x 9 1/4 inches, soft satin finish in excellent condition. This photograph is from Francisco Moncion's original collection given to him by George Platt Lyons. It is one of 14 different poses in the 'Orpheus' series. 8 different photographs are remaining for sale and are available on request. All are original Platt Lyons gelatin silver prints original to Moncion's collection and are stamped by the photographer. Photographs from this celebrated series are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, NYC), the NYC Public Library, and many university art archives. George Platt Lynes (1907–1955), was a gregarious American portrait, dance, fashion, and male nude photographer whose career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1950s. From age eighteen, Lynes entered the cosmopolitan world of the American expatriate community in Paris when he became acquainted with the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. He began photographing authors like Stein, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Colette and soon established himself as one of the premier fashion photographers in the Condé Nast stable, documenting the ballet companies of George Balanchine/Lincoln Kirstein, and pursuing a private obsession with seductive images of young male nudes rarely published in his lifetime. Orpheus represents a major 20th Century artistic collaboration between composer Igor Stravinsky, choreographer George Ballanchine, and artist/designer Isamu Naguchi. Orpheus is a thirty-minute neoclassical ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky in collaboration with choreographer George Balanchine in Hollywood, California in 1947. The work was commissioned by Ballet Society, later renamed New York City Ballet, which Balanchine founded with Lincoln Kirstein. Sets and costumes were created by Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi’s lyre harp from the production became the symbol of the New York City Ballet. Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his forty year career, choreographers George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins in the New York City Ballet created 22 major roles for Moncion including the Dark Angel...
Silver Gelatin
$3,500
H 5 in W 7 in
“Untitled (Nudes Climbing), 2007” Bruce Weber Unique Silver Print Signed
By Bruce Weber
Located in Yardley, PA
About this work: “Untitled (Nudes Climbing), 2007” by Bruce Weber (American, b. 1946). A wonderful example of Weber’s iconic exploration of youthful masculinity, sensuality, and emo...
Silver Gelatin
$1,657
H 24 in W 20 in
Liz Hurley - Celebrity Photography Print (Limited Edition of 25) -- 20 x 24 In.
Located in New York, NY
Elizabeth Hurley photographed by British celebrity and fashion photographer John Stoddart. This risqué iconic black and white photograph expresses her incredible figure, capturing the actress completely naked, against the head of a large Grecian bust...
Silver Gelatin
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
Fern Spring, Dusk, Yosemite
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print with exemplary provenance is unsigned but bears several stamps from the artist's family on the back of the mount, including the authentication stamp of Adam...
Silver Gelatin
$4,832
H 30 in W 20 in
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
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
$1,500
H 7 in W 5 in
“Untitled (Twins Seated II), c. 2008” Bruce Weber Unique Silver Print Signed
By Bruce Weber
Located in Yardley, PA
About this work: “Untitled (Twins Holding Arms), c. 2008” by Bruce Weber (American, b. 1946). A wonderful example of Weber’s iconic exploration of youthful masculinity, sensuality, ...
Silver Gelatin
$3,590
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
$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
$6,628Sale Price|20% Off
H 40 in W 30 in
Liz Hurley (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography - 30x40 Print
Located in New York, NY
Elizabeth Hurley photographed by British celebrity and fashion photographer John Stoddart. This risqué iconic black and white photograph expresses her incredible figure, capturing the actress completely naked, against the head of a large Grecian bust...
Silver Gelatin
$3,590
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
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
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
Venerable Tree Trunk
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Edition 78/100