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
$2,222
H 11 in W 14 in
Fashion Show, African American, Gelatin Silver Print, Harlem 1963, Signed, 11x14
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Fashion Show, 1963, Harlem, USA by Leonard Freed, is an 11” x 14” gelatin silver print, which appears in the photographer's seminal Black in White America book. The photograph is sta...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$4,600
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.07 in
Girl with Flag - Black and White Photograph, Black Artist, Child, Portrait
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Girl with Flag by Earlie Hudnall, Jr., presents a portrait of a young African American girl holding a small American flag. She is dressed in white, and looking over her shoulder. She stares into the distance with a blank, almost melancholy look on her face. Signed, titled, and dated by Earlie Hudnall, Jr in pencil on print verso. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. *Images and video show photograph in size 20 x 16 in. Frame not included Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African American photographers...
Silver Gelatin
$4,444
H 24 in W 20 in
Wall Street, New York, 1950s, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, 24x20 Photograph
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
American photographer Leonard Freed's photographic career was punctuated by epic documentary photo essays with many works shot in New York City, Wall Street, is one of the photograph...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$4,444
H 24 in W 20 in
Fire Hydrant, Harlem, New York 1960s, Gelatin Silver Photograph, Signed, 24x20
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Punctuated by documentary photo essays such as Black in White America, Fire Hydrant is one of Leonard Freed's most iconic in the Harlem, New York series. Two children enjoy a blissf...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$2,222
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
$2,260
H 14 in W 11 in
Harlem, New York, 1950s Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, 14x11 Inches
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Harlem, 1954 by Leonard Freed, is a 14” x 11” photograph from the photographer's Black in White America book (p. 91). The gelatin silver print from the estate is stamped verso (bac...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$2,333
H 11 in W 14 in
Kate, New York, Signed Gelatin Silver Photograph, Contemporary Nude, 11x14
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate, from the Kate series, Garrison, New York, 2002 by American photographer Leonard Freed is an 11” x 14” gelatin silver photograph signed verso (on back of photo) by the estate. T...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$2,222
H 11.5 in W 9.5 in
Fire Hydrant, Harlem, African Americans 1960s, Gelatin Silver Photo, Signed
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Fire Hydrant, Harlem, 1963 by Leonard Freed is a 11.5" x 9.5" gelatin silver signed by the photographer Leonard Freed (on verso). Provenance: Freed Estate LITERATURE: W. A. Ewing, N....
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$2,222
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #11, Female Nude, Black and White Photograph, Signed Vintage, 8x10, 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #11, 2002 by Leonard Freed is a signed verso (back of photo) 8" x 10" black and white photograph, hand printed, signed by the photographer and stamped "vintage" by the Freed es...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$2,222
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
$1,444
H 10 in W 8 in
Marilyn Monroe, Black and White Gelatin Silver RC Print, 1955, Signed, 10x8
By Burt Glinn
Located in New york, NY
American photographer Burt Glinn photographed the Hollywood star in conversation with Mike Todd and film director John Huston for a “Stop Arthritis” event which took place in New Yor...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$4,444
H 24 in W 20 in
Bride, Italy, Black and White Photograph, Gelatin Silver, Signed, 24x20, 1958
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Bride, Naples, Italy, 1958 by Leonard Freed is a black and white contemporary photograph, cinematic in nature. A gelatin silver photograph, signed by the photographer, 24" x 20" from the Freed archive. LITERATURE: W. A. Ewing, N. Herschdorfer, and W. van Sinderen, Worldview, Leonard Freed, Steidl, 2007, p. 73 and back cover. Leonard Freed discovered Little Italy in New York...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
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