Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1879-03-27
Death 1973-03-25
Birth 1879-03-27
Death 1973-03-25
Gender:
Male
Luxembourgers, Americans
English

Biographical notes:

Edward Jean Steichen, born Eduard Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973), was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator. His were the photographs that most frequently appeared in Alfred Stieglitz's groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its publication from 1903 to 1917.

Steichen laid claim to his photos of gowns for the magazine Art et Décoration in 1911, being the first modern fashion photographs ever published. Steichen used his talents in the military in WWI taking aerial photography. This experience led him to vow to focus only on realist photography henceforth, seeing photography not as an art but as a window into the world of man. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen was a photographer for the Condé Nast magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair, while also working for many advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson. During these years, Steichen was regarded as the best known and highest paid photographer in the world. After this work of a commercial photographer, Steichen again did military work during WWII and in 1944, he directed the war documentary The Fighting Lady, which won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

From 1947 to 1961, Steichen served as Director of the department of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art. While there, he curated and assembled exhibits including The Family of Man, which was seen by nine million people.

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Permalink:
http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hf8k3c
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Subjects:

  • Art museum curators
  • Civil rights
  • Painters
  • Painting, American
  • Photographers
  • Photographers
  • Photographers
  • Photographs as information resources
  • Photography
  • Photography
  • Photography, Artistic
  • Racism
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945 Campaigns Pacific Ocean
  • Photographers
  • Photographers
  • Photography
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945

Occupations:

  • Art museum directors
  • Photographers

Places:

  • CT, US
  • 03, LU
  • CT, US
  • 03, LU

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