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
Eugene ONeill
By Edward Steichen
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Silver gelatin print Provenance: General Electric Corporate Collection Heather James Fine Art
Silver Gelatin
$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
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
Seaplane Love
By Luciana Pampalone
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 20. CURRENT EXHIBITION - runs through December 31, 2017. Any framed photographs purchased during the show will...
Archival Pigment
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
By Greg Brennan
Located in New York, NY
The Queen 2015 Silver gelatin print Signed and numbered edition of 25 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, photographed in London, May 2015. Greg Brennan is ...
Silver Gelatin
$3,530
H 28.35 in W 21.66 in D 0.08 in
Orchid-Signed limited edition fine art print, Black White Nature, Still life
By Ian Sanderson
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Orchids by Ian Sanderson Signed limited edition archival pigment print, 1991 - Edition of 5 This image was captured on film. The negative was scanned creating a digital file wh...
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Black and White, Pigment, Archival Pi...
Norman Parkinson 'Montgomery Clift in New York, 1952'
By Norman Parkinson
Located in New York, NY
American actor Montgomery Clift photographed in New York for British Vogue, November 1952. Montgomery Clift in New York, 1952 Silver gelatin print Estate stamped and numbered editio...
Silver Gelatin
$230
H 4.69 in W 6.5 in D 0.01 in
Paris, Faubourg du Temple, 1926, Silver Gelatin Black and White Photography
By Press Photo
Located in Atlanta, GA
A unique original silver gelatin black and white photography. Paris, Faubourg du Temple, view of one of the numerous cafés in Paris, 1926. Features: Original Silver Gelatin Print Pho...
Silver Gelatin
$1,100
H 14 in W 11 in
Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph Stanley Twardowicz Venice Italy Gondola Photo
By Stanley Twardowicz
Located in Surfside, FL
Black & white vintage photo of Venice Italy in 1952 by American Abstract Expressionism artist Stanley Twardowicz (1917-2008). It depicts a reflection of the buildings on the water of the canal with a gondola. Sheet is 14 x 11. Photo image measures 7.5" by 8.5" Stanley Twardowicz (1917 – 2008) was an American abstract painter and photographer. Twardowicz was born in Detroit, and studied at the Meinzinger Art School during World War II as well as working in a tank factory. Twardowicz began practicing photography on a 1948 trip to Mexico, and during the 1950s and 1960s he developed his painting style, related to color field paintings and abstract expressionism. He achieved some national recognition during the years he moved to Plainfield, New Jersey and became a regular at the famous Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, the meeting place of fellow abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline and others. The Cedar Tavern (or Cedar Street Tavern) was a bar and restaurant at the eastern edge of Greenwich Village, New York City. Known as a gathering place for avant garde writers and artists, it was located at 24 University Place, near 8th Street. It was famous in its day as a hangout of many prominent Abstract Expressionist painters and Beat writers and poets. Robert Motherwell had a studio nearby in the early 1950s, and he held a weekly salon for artists there. Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Michael Goldberg, Lynne Drexler, Philip Guston, Ted Joans...
Silver Gelatin
Willie Mays, San Francisco, 1962
By Neil Leifer
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Willie Mays, San Francisco, 1942 Signed and numbered in ink on recto Gelatin Silver Print Image 16 x 20 Matted 20 x 24 Edition 51 of 150
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
$5,000
H 20 in W 16 in
Richard Corman - Jean-Michel Basquiat VI: A Portrait, 1984 Signed/N photograph
By Richard Corman
Located in New York, NY
Richard Corman Jean-Michel Basquiat VI: A Portrait, 1984, 2018 Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated and numbered 4/30 by Richard Corman in marker on the reverse 20 × 16 inches...
Silver Gelatin
$440Sale Price|20% Off
H 12 in W 14 in D 0.25 in
Lake Tenaya in Yosemite - Black & White Landscape Photograph
By Jeff Nixon
Located in Soquel, CA
Lake Tenaya in Yosemite - Black & White Landscape Photograph Beautiful black and white landscape photograph of Lake Tenaya by Jeff Nixon (American, 1952-2022). Along the bottom ...
Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,750
H 24 in W 20 in
Norman Parkinson 'Iman in a Jane Cattlin bikini, Tobago. Vogue, 1976'
By Norman Parkinson
Located in New York, NY
Iman at King Peter’s Bay, Tobago wearing a Jane Cattlin bikini. British Vogue, May 1976 Iman at King Peter's Bay, Tobago. Vogue, May 1976 Silver gelatin p...
Silver Gelatin
$520Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 16 in D 0.25 in
"Death Valley" After Ansel Adams - Black & White Landscape Photograph
By Jeff Nixon
Located in Soquel, CA
"Death Valley" After Ansel Adams - Black & White Landscape Photograph Beautiful black and white landscape of Death Valley by Jeff Nixon (American, 1952-2022). Nixon was a student, a...
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