Alfred Stieglitz

In 1893, Stieglitz succumbed to pressure from his parents and married Emmeline Obermeyer, the sister of a business associate. Though he and Emmy had one daughter, it was a relationship of financial convenience for him and he was commonly open about his discontent. The couple divorced in 1924. In the same year, a few months after his divorce, he married Georgia O'Keeffe.

Born on January 1, 1864, in Hoboken, NJ to German-Jewish immigrants, Alfred Stieglitz was first of six children, including a pair of twins. For his early education he was sent to the finest private schools in New York.

In 1882, he began studying at the ‘Technische Hochschule’ in Berlin for a degree in mechanical engineering. It was at this school that he discovered his passion for the developing field of photography.

In 1890, he was forced to return to New York to be with his family after his eldest sister Flora died in childbirth. Although he didn't want to come back to the city, after eight years of the cultured and artistic freedom of Germany, he ultimately returned to his grieving family when his father threatened to cut his allowances.

Following his return to New York, Stieglitz became a leading advocate for the pictorial school of photography and wrote extensively, for 'The American Amateur Photographer' and other publications, about the principles of photography as a fine art. In 1890, his father bought him a small photography studio in New York where he could display his own work.

In 1892, he became the editor of 'Camera Notes', the periodical journal of the New York Camera Club. He continued to use his influence within the club to promote the rise of photography as a respected art form.

By 1902, Stieglitz and a group of like-minded photographers stepped away from the Camera Club to begin an independent project, as part of what he called the Photo-Secession. This project began with a single show of photography carefully selected by Stieglitz from his circle of friends and grew into a new independent publication called 'Camera Work'.

These perfectionist selections met with critical acclaim and a positive reception among the general public. Stieglitz edited the publication from 1902 to 1917.

Following, the renaming of his first gallery to '291', in 1908, his work was featured in an exhibition by the National Arts Club billed as a 'Special Exhibition of Contemporary Art'.

'The Steerage', taken in 1907, remains one of his most influential and recognizable photographs. Taken from a viewpoint in which both upper class passengers and lower class passengers in steerage can be seen on their separate decks, this photograph is considered a perfect example of the modern documentary style. It not only displays the aesthetic principles of modernism, but also makes a ringing commentary on the subject matter without saying a word.

Some of Stieglitz's most enduring and famous photographs are portraits of his fellow artist and eventually wife, Georgia O'Keefe. His extensive series of portraits was dedicated to capturing her personality and inner life as much as her physical appearance. He took and published over 250 portraits of her from 1917 to 1924.