Edward Steichen
1879–1973 · Luxembourg / United States
From the authored image to the exhibition.
The story
Steichen moved through several photographic worlds: Pictorialism, portraiture, fashion, commissions and exhibition design. Close to Stieglitz in his early years, he also became an important figure in published photography. At MoMA, he directed the photography department and notably conceived The Family of Man. His career shows how the same images change meaning between magazine, book, collection and exhibition display.
Understanding the work
Examine page layouts and relationships between photographs as closely as individual images. The choice of format and sequence can strongly influence how they are read.
Key works and series
Portraits and fashion photographs; The Family of Man, an exhibition conceived in 1955.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
