STEICHEN, EDWARD (1879-1973) Mrs. Steichen and the Steichen Children. Silver print, 4 1/2x6 1/4 inches (11.4x15.9 cm.), double-mounted, with Steichen's signature, in pencil, on the secondary mount recto and an inscription by Steichen, in pencil, on mount verso. 1908
Originally from the estate of Jean Walker Simpson; by agent to the present owner.
Steichen's inscription reads, "A good old fashioned Christmas is what we hope you will have - Sincerely Steichen."
Already an established painter, Edward Steichen began exploring photography as a medium of self-expression in the late 1890s. He quickly became a master of the Pictorialist idiom, which utilized soft focus, heavy manipulation in the darkroom and experimentation with gum and platinum printing processes. In 1905, Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz founded the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (later known as "291"), the first American institution to promote photography as an elevated art form.
Steichen's early work was greatly influenced by Pictorialism and an atmosphere of radiant light. Some of his night-time photographs masterfully utilized moonlight. Here, the subjects almost seem to float in an ambient light that perfectly reflects the sentimental nature of the personal inscription.
