Artists > Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz

American, 1864–1946

Through his own photographic work over the course of a half century, the journals he edited and published, and the exhibitions he mounted at his influential New York galleries, Alfred Stieglitz played a crucial role in establishing photography as an integral part of modern art in America. A founder of the Photo-Secession, a Pictorialist group of photographers, he elevated the discourse and practice of photography, forming key connections between American and European movements. Later, he embraced straight photography, linking its potential for modern expression with that of avant-garde painting and sculpture.

 

Stieglitz’s early photographs and writings served as arguments for photography’s acceptance as an art form on par with painting. Studying in Europe, he made picturesque scenes with great technical skill, winning prizes for his large carbon prints. Upon his return to New York, he turned his camera to the streets and buildings of that rapidly changing city, printing his images as photogravures in order to emphasize the atmospheric effects and lend them a softening tone.

 

Beginning around 1910, Stieglitz shifted away from the painterly approach of the Pictorialists and toward a more direct, straightforward depiction, which was echoed in his use of photographic papers such as platinum, palladium, and later, gelatin silver prints. In his portraits of the many artists in his circle he probed new psychological depths, and an extended, “composite” portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe marked a new form of photographic description. Starting in 1922, Stieglitz made his first nearly abstract photographs with a series of cloud studies he called Equivalents, arguing that photography could assume the same nonrepresentational qualities as music. In his later work, he would continue to think in metaphors, whether depicting the construction of New York City skyscrapers or the dying poplars at his family estate in Lake George. Toward the end of his career, Stieglitz would revisit earlier negatives—reprinting and reinterpreting them with the crisp, cool tones of gelatin silver contact prints, demonstrating that his sensibilities had, even from the beginning, been thoroughly modern.

 

Stieglitz’s formidable activity as a publisher and a gallerist paralleled that of his work as an artist. After serving as the editor of Camera Notes, he published Camera Work, which evolved from a showcase for the Photo-Secession to a forum for international modern art of all media. At his galleries—the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, later known as 291; the Intimate Gallery; and An American Place—he introduced the European avant-garde and promoted a new generation of American painters, all while advocating for photography’s place among the other fine arts.

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Net Mender, 1894

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Hand of Man, 1902, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hands and Thimble, 1919

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

An Icy Night, New York, 1898

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Alfred Stieglitz

Mid Snow and Ice, 1894, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

November Days, 1887, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

My Father, 1894, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

Sun Rays—Paula, Berlin, 1889, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

A Street in Sterzing, The Tyrol, 1890

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Alfred Stieglitz

Stones of Venice, Chioggia, 1887, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

Venice, 1894, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

A Wet Day on the Boulevard, Paris, 1894, printed 1918/32

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Alfred Stieglitz

Outward Bound, The Mauretania, 1910, printed 1918/32

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Steerage, 1907, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Terminal, 1893, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Flatiron, 1903, printed 1920/39

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Alfred Stieglitz

From Room “3003” – The Shelton, New York, Looking Northeast, 1927

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Alfred Stieglitz

From the Back-Window “291” Snow-Covered Tree, Back-Yard, 1915

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Alfred Stieglitz

From the Back-Window “291”, 1915

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Alfred Stieglitz

Marsden Hartley, 1916

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Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen

John Marin, 1910, printed by Alfred Stieglitz

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Alfred Stieglitz

Arthur G. Dove, 1912

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Alfred Stieglitz

Ma, 1915/17

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Alfred Stieglitz

Lake George, Oaklawn, 1912/13

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia Engelhard, 1920

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Alfred Stieglitz

Arthur G. Dove, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Dorothy True, 1919

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Alfred Stieglitz

John Marin, 1921/22

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Alfred Stieglitz

Waldo Frank, 1920

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Alfred Stieglitz

Katharine Dudley, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Sherwood Anderson, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Sherwood Anderson, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Sherwood Anderson, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Sherwood Anderson, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Gable and Apples, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Poplars—Lake George, 1935

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Alfred Stieglitz

Tree Set 3, c. 1924

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Alfred Stieglitz

Hedwig Stieglitz, 1921/22

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rebecca Salsbury Strand, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Rainbow, 1920

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Alfred Stieglitz

Barn, Lake George, 1936

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Alfred Stieglitz

Dualities – Dorothy Norman, 1932

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Alfred Stieglitz

Dorothy Norman, c. 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

Dorothy Norman, 1930

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hand, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1933

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe – Feet, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1919/21

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1919/21

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hands, 1920/22

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1919/20

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe – Hands and Horse Skull, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe—Neck, 1921

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe—Torso, 1918

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Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

House and Grape Leaves, 1934

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Alfred Stieglitz

House and Grape Leaves, 1934

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Alfred Stieglitz

Lake George, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Car 2F-77-77, 1935

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Alfred Stieglitz

Lake George from the Hill, 1932

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Alfred Stieglitz

Grass and Frost, 1934

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Alfred Stieglitz

First Snow and the Little House, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Dying Chestnut, 1919

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Alfred Stieglitz

Door to Kitchen, Lake George, 1934

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Dancing Trees, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Poplars—Lake George, 1932

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Alfred Stieglitz

Lake George, c. 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Music – A Sequence of Ten Cloud Photographs, No. II, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Window: Wood, Glass, Snow, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Grass and Flagpole, 1933

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Alfred Stieglitz

Grass, 1933

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Alfred Stieglitz

Barn—Lake George, 1922

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Alfred Stieglitz

Hedge and Grasses – Lake George, 1933

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Dying Chestnut Tree—My Teacher, 1927

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at the Shelton, West, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at the Shelton, West, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at the Shelton, West, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at An American Place, Southwest, 1932

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Alfred Stieglitz

New York from the Shelton, 1935

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at An American Place, North, 1930/31

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at An American Place, North, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at An American Place, North, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

From My Window at An American Place, Southwest, 1932

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, c. 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1931

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1924

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Alfred Stieglitz

Spiritual America: Songs of the Sky A1, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1930

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 2), 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 1), 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 3), 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1923

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1925

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1925

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1925

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1926

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1930

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1930

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1927

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1926

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1927

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, 1925

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 1), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 2), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 3), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 5), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 4), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 7), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 8), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 6), 1929

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Alfred Stieglitz

The City of Ambitions, 1910

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Alfred Stieglitz

Spring – The Child, 1901

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Flatiron, 1903

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Street, Fifth Avenue, 1900/01

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Railroad Yard, Winter, 1903

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Alfred Stieglitz

Going to the Post, Morris Park, 1904

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Alfred Stieglitz

On the Seine—Near Paris, 1894, printed 1897

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Alfred Stieglitz

Outward Bound, The Mauretania, 1910

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Alfred Stieglitz

Two Towers, New York, 1911

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Alfred Stieglitz

Old and New New York, 1910

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Steerage, 1907, printed 1915

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Terminal, 1893

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Alfred Stieglitz

Spring Showers, 1900/01

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Alfred Stieglitz

The Hand of Man, 1902

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Alfred Stieglitz

A Venetian Canal, 1894, printed 1897

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Alfred Stieglitz

A Wet Day on the Boulevard, Paris, 1894, printed c. 1897

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Alfred Stieglitz

Reflections—Venice, 1894, printed 1897

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Alfred Stieglitz

Scurrying Home, 1894, printed 1897

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Edward Steichen

Clara Steichen with Bowl of Oranges, 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Frank Eugene Seated at Table, 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Dr. Fritz Raab: Sunspots, 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Mrs. Edward Stieglitz, 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Kitty Stieglitz, c. 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Kitty Stieglitz, c. 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Kitty Stieglitz, c. 1907

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Alfred Stieglitz

Child with Striped Dress (Younger Raab Child), 1907

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