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
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
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
$532
H 12.6 in W 12.6 in D 0.2 in
Poppy No.2 - analogue black and white floral photography, limited edition (2/20)
By Ugne Pouwell
Located in London, GB
Poppy No.2 is a captivating black and white still-life photograph capturing the delicate elegance of a poppy flower. Created using a large format 4x5 Linhof camera, this analogue ima...
Giclée
Cranston Richie
By Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Located in New York, NY
From a portfolio of ten gelatin silver prints from original Meatyard negatives (1959-71) Printed April 1974 Edition of 130 Credit stamp, verso 7 x 7 inches, image 15 x 12 inches, mount This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “This image probably owes some of its inspiration to the abnormal characters in the stories of Flannery O’Connor’s 1955 collection, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." But Meatyard was also looking at Giorgio de Chirico and the European Surrealists and here employs their penchant for the lifeless mannequin figure. A headless dressmaker’s dummy...
Silver Gelatin
Grateful Dead
By Herb Greene
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
The Grateful Dead on the corner of Haight and Ashbury St, San Francisco, CA. 1967.
Silver Gelatin
'Tennis Legends' 1980 Silver Gelatin Print
Located in London, GB
'John McEnroe' 1981 Silver Gelatin Print by Watfiord / Mirror Group Archives. Wimbledon 3rd Day: John McEnroe. June 1981 The famous tennis star icon won at the All England Club championships that year, finally beating his long term rival Bjorn Borg...
Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 30 in W 40 in
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) 1st December 1938. Spectators watching a tennis match at a country club. Addi...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$1,150
H 20.15 in W 23.75 in D 1 in
Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona
By Huntington Witherill
Located in San Francisco, CA
This Photograph titled "Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona" is a gelatin silver print by noted American photographer Huntington Witherill, born ...
Silver Gelatin
$2,796Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.5 in W 7.75 in
Robert Mapplethorpe, Rose with Smoke, from A Season in Hell, 1986 (after)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite photogravure after Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989), titled Rose with Smoke, from the folio A Season in Hell, originates from the 1986 edition published by The Limited ...
Photogravure
Dolly Parton
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
Dolly Parton photographed in New York City in September, 1976. Estate Stamped by photographer David Gahr.
Silver Gelatin
Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood
By Michael Zagaris
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood walking backstage in Oakland, CA.
Silver Gelatin
Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger
By Ken Regan
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
A photograph of Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol together in New York City in January of 1977. Estate Stamped and Numbered
Silver Gelatin
$1,354
H 30 in W 40 in
Thames Divers (1934) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Thames Divers (1934) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by H F Davis/Getty Images Archive) Two divers jumping off the Embankment into the River Thames in London, near Westminster...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Sonny Stitt
By Herman Leonard
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
Sonny Stitt performing in NYC. 1953 Photograph signed by photographer Limited Edition Herman Leonard took intimate, decisive photographs of nearly every ...
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
Nude with Cat, from Camera Work Vol. 2 Page 39
By Edward Steichen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nude with Cat, c.1902-1903 from Camera Work Vol. 2 Page 39 One of the most influential figures in the history of photography, Edward Steichen (1879-1973...