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)
$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
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
$3,750
H 23.5 in W 21.25 in D 1 in
^Framed^ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by Terry O'Neill - Estate Stamped - 7/50
By Terry O'Neill
Located in Chicago, IL
Actors Steve Martin and Michael Caine starring in Frank Oz’s film ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ in which the pair play competing con artists, Cote d’Azure, 1988. Paper size: 20 H x 16 W...
Silver Gelatin
Happy Marilyn (1956) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Happy Marilyn (1956) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images) American film star Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) outside her home at Englefield Green. A...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$2,500
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #10, Yoga, Black and White Photograph, Signed Vintage, 8x10 Inches
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #10, 2002 by Leonard Freed is an 8" x 10" hand printed black and white photograph from his nude series. Signed by the photographer the gelatin silver print is stamped "vintage" ...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$234
H 15.75 in W 15.75 in D 1.38 in
Fish and Chips Van Square, Haddenham - English Vintage Countryside Color Photo
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
A classic British fish & chips van, on a classic English day at Haddenham Steam Rally Country Fair, photograph by Richard Heeps. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss p...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$1,654Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 24 in
Daniel Craig Contact Sheet (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
This is a 2002 contact sheet (a positive print of all the negative images from a roll of 35mm film or medium format film) of youthful-looking Daniel Craig...
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
$3,308Sale Price|20% Off
H 30 in W 30 in
Daniel Craig (Limited Edition of 25), 30x30 In - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
Daniel Craig, photographed in 2002 by British celebrity and fashion photographer, John Stoddart, prior to Craigs casting as 007, James Bond. Craig was th...
Silver Gelatin
Sabrina (1953) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Sabrina (1953) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) October 1953: Belgian-born actor Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) leans out of a car window on the set ...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Lana Turner - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
Located in London, GB
Lana Turner - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo Cineclassico/Alamy Archives) American actress- Lana Turner (February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$2,500
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #13. Female Nude, Black and White Photograph, Signed, 8x10, Vintage 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #13, is from the Kate series, 2002 by American photographer Leonard Freed is a signed, 8" x 10" black and white photograph (gelatin silver), stamped "vintage" on verso (back of ...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$2,400
H 20 in W 15 in
"The Glimmer Twins - Mick Jagger" Photography 20x15 in by Charlie Auringer
Located in Culver City, CA
"The Glimmer Twins - Mick Jagger" Photography 20x15 in by Charlie Auringer Year: 1978 Edition of 50 Medium: Silver gelatin limited edition photographic print on paper Signed and num...
Silver Gelatin
Margaret Hamilton - Witch in Myths series
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This work was acquired directly from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The work is in pristine condition and has never been framed. This is a unique work which comes w...
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