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[ Artwork description: A photograph in black and white that appears over exposed with two separate images of the Empire State Building. Both images are taken from below, and show the building ascending upwards. One image appears lighter than the other. ]

Edward Steichen

The Maypole (Empire State Building) from Steichen: Twenty-five Photographs , 1932

Artwork Type: Photographs
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: 13 x 10 in. (33.02 x 25.4 cm)
Accession #: 19931098U
Credit: Collection of University Art Museum, University at Albany, State University of New York on behalf of The University at Albany Foundation , gift of Stephen and Linda Singer
Related Exhibitions:
Regarding Place: Photographs From The University Art Collections
Near & Far: Six Photography Portfolios from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections
Copyright: © Edward Steichen
Object Label:

American, born Luxembourg, 1879, died 1973 

 

Edward Steichen is considered one of the twentieth century’s preeminent photographers. A major Pictorialist and member of the Photo Secession, Steichen was instrumental in promoting photography as an art form during the early years of the last century. He later incorporated the influences of Modernist geometric abstraction into his work, gradually abandoning Pictorialism in favor of straight photography with a strong sense of design and clean, uncluttered images and compositions. 


During a career that spanned nearly seven decades, Steichen became a leading figure in the fields of celebrity portraiture, fashion, aerial photography (in both World Wars), and industrial design. He worked as a commercial photographer during the 1920s and 30s for such publications as Vogue and Vanity Fair, and was the founding director of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1947 to 1962. In 1955 he organized the museum’s famous Family of Man exhibition, which brought together the work of photographers from sixty-eight countries.
Regarding Place: Photographs From The University Art Collections

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