ABOUT Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz is a pioneering figure in artistic photography who elevated photography, which had previously been a medium for recording, to an art form. After studying photographic science in Germany and spending ten years in Europe, Stieglitz returned to the United States and settled in New York. He felt dissatisfied with the conservative and socially-oriented American photography scene, which led him to become increasingly isolated. One day, he came across a scene where a driver was watering his horses at the end of a snow-covered railway carriage route. This moment seemed to resonate with his inner vision, and he captured it with a small handheld camera. This experience inspired Stieglitz to pursue "Straight Photography"*. He believed that, unlike painting, photography could objectively capture what was in front of it without distorting the subject through the artist′s subjectivity, while still maintaining its own spiritual essence. Over time, Stieglitz gained more supporters, and in 1902, he founded the Photo-Secession. He also published "Camera Work" as a journal for the Photo-Secession′s activities and opened a small gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue in New York. This gallery is commonly known as "Gallery 291." At this gallery, Stieglitz not only showcased the works of Photo-Secession photographers but also introduced avant-garde European art from artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Additionally, the gallery became a hub for New York Dada, featuring artists like Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia.

*"Straight Photography" was Stieglitz′s crucial early assertion in photographic expression, positioned in opposition to painterly photographic expression. It involves a method that utilizes the inherent qualities and functions of photography without alterations or modifications. This approach, which values objective expression over subjective, is strongly influenced by modernist ideas.