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Edward Steichen




Edward Steichen ( March 27 , 1879 - March 25 , 1973 ) was an American Photographer , Painter , and Art Gallery and Museum curator, born in Luxembourg . His family moved to the United States in 1881 and he became a Naturalized Citizen in 1900 .

Having established himself as a fine-art painter, in the beginning of the 20th Century , Steichen assumed the Pictorialist approach in photography and proved himself a master of it. In 1905 , Steichen helped create the Little Galleries Of The Photo-Secession , with Alfred Stieglitz . After World War I , during which he commanded the photographic division of the American Expeditionary Forces , he reverted to Straight Photography , gradually moving into Fashion Photography .

In World War II he served as Director of the Naval Photographic Institute . After the war, Steichen served until 1962 as the Director of Photography at New York's Museum Of Modern Art .

Among other accomplishments, Steichen is appreciated for creating '' The Family Of Man '' in 1955 , a vast exhibition consisting of over 500 photos that depicted life, love and death in 68 countries. Steichen's brother-in-law, Carl Sandburg , wrote the introduction for the exhibition catalog (ISBN 0810961695). As had been Steichen's wish, the exhibition was donated to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. It is now permanently housed in the Luxembourg village Clervaux {Link without Title} .


THE POND-MOONLIGHT


In February of 2006, a copy of Steichen's early pictorialist photograph, ''The Pond-Moonlight'' (1904), reached the highest price ever paid for a photograph at auction at U.S. $2.9 million.

The photograph was taken in Mamaroneck, New York , in Westchester County, and features a wooded area and pond, with moonlight appearing between the trees and reflecting on the pond. Part of the reason for its value and rarity is that it is a very early example of colour photography, produced using the Autochrome process. Contributing to its high price is that there are only three known copies in existence; there are two in museum collections in addition to the print sold at auction in 2006. {Link without Title}


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