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
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
Carcava, black and white photograph of desert
By Heather Boose Weiss
Located in New York, NY
Archival pigment print. 15" x 15" edition of 10, unframed, $1,800 30" x 30" edition of 10, unframed $3,450 Please allow at least 2 weeks for the photograph to be printed and shipp...
Silver Gelatin
$4,091
H 20 in W 30 in
Sparring - Chris Smith, Muhammad Ali, Ali, boxing, black and white, 20x30 in
By Chris Smith
Located in London, GB
Chris Smith (b.1937) Sparring silver gelatin fibre based print 20 x 30 in. / 34.5 x 48 in. / 46 x 66 in. signed and numbered printed later This work is available in the following si...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Wading Pool Girl - Greenwich Village, New York City
Located in Saint Louis, MO
S. Vincent Dillard Wading Pool Girl - Greenwich Village, New York City, 1968 Gelatin Silver Print 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Silver Gelatin
$1,450
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.01 in
Boy Jumping into Hudson River, NYC - Children playing, New York Scene, Summer
By Ruth Orkin
Located in Denton, TX
Boy Jumping into Hudson River, NYC by Ruth Orkin is a black and white gelatin silver print of a child jumping off a building into the water below. Gelatin Silver Print 14 x 11 in. B...
Silver Gelatin
$375
H 20 in W 24 in D 0.02 in
'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Archival Photograph by Getty 20x24
By Hal Morey/Getty Images
Located in San Rafael, CA
An iconic image. Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images) As ...
Photographic Paper
$3,632
H 32.01 in W 32.01 in D 0.08 in
Clam 02 - Monochrome Contemporary Photograph, Signed Edition, Organic square
By Ian Sanderson
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Clam 02- Signed limited edition archival pigment print - Edition of 5 The image is 32 inches or 81,28 cm, a large print that can be framed in a standard square frame 36 x 36 in....
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...
$1,450
H 11 in W 14 in D 0.01 in
White Stoops, West 88th Street, NYC - New York City, City Scene, Snow, Winter
By Ruth Orkin
Located in Denton, TX
White Stoops, West 88th Street, NYC by Ruth Orkin is a black and white gelatin silver print of cars parked along the street, with a layer of snow covering the scene. Gelatin Silver ...
Silver Gelatin
$250
H 6.32 in W 4.63 in D 0.01 in
The Seine River at The Paris Decorative Art Fair 1925, B and W Photography
By Press Photo
Located in Atlanta, GA
A unique original silver gelatin black and white photography. The International Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris, in October 1925. By the river Seine, access to the Department Sto...
Silver Gelatin
Norman Parkinson 'Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967'
By Norman Parkinson
Located in New York, NY
Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967. Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967 Silver gelatin print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 21 on verso with certificate of authenticity Norman Parkinson (...
Silver Gelatin
Gravestone Detail
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print is initialed "AA" in felt-tip ink either by the artist or an unknown hand on the front of the mount. This print comes from the collection of the artist's da...
Silver Gelatin
$1,100
H 17 in W 11 in
Audrey Hepburn Washes Car, 1953 - Mark Shaw Editioned Giclée Print
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Audrey Hepburn Washes Car, c15_29 -- Audrey Hepburn on the set of Sabrina. Out take from the photo essay shot for the December 7, 1953 issue of LIFE. Image size is 10" x 15" (for 11"...
Giclée
$375
H 20 in W 24 in
John Minihan 'Yves Saint Laurent' Archival Photograph by Getty, 20x24
By John Minihan
Located in San Rafael, CA
By photographer John Minihan, Yves Saint Laurent, French designer with two fashion models, Betty Catroux (left) and Loulou de la Falaise, outside his 'Riv...
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
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...