In the 1920s, though, it seemed that Steichen was forsaking his paintbrush so he could peddle bourgeois fantasies.
At first he showed his own photography and that of his circle of friends, such as Edward Steichen.
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Despite his dabbling in advertising, Steichen was more than a glorified press agent.
The Luxembourg-born, Milwaukee-bred photographer and painter Edward Steichen has been charged with inventing the fashion photograph (not entirely true) as well as glamour (probably more true).
More thematic shows are being discussed ("I think you have some things to learn from Steichen") and he would like, now and then, to fold moving images into the annual "New Photography" exhibition.
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Steichen preferred clear images, stark lines, interesting angles and a strong independent woman, standing at the center of the frame, hands on her hips, in a short flapper dress and flashing a sardonic smile.
Yet in 1923, when Steichen effectively defected from the art world for a lucrative magazine and advertising career (he would later burn all his painted canvases), the idea of merging art and commerce was sacrilege.
Even more impressive is Eastman House's staggering collection of 400, 000 prints and negatives, the largest collection in the world, including works by Eugne Atget, Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, as well as much contemporary photography.
Steichen's images--many of which you've likely seen in photography books (a young Gloria Swanson, mysterious and smoldering behind a black lace veil, or Charlie Chaplin goofing around with a cane and bowler hat)--don't appear particularly controversial.
Consider, for example, Greta Garbo's lovely, sad, saucer eyes, or a puzzling, dazzling photo of three women wearing stark white, flanking a white horse and standing in what looks like a white-tiled communal shower (actually Steichen's studio).
Having grown up when photography was just being recognized as an art form, the French-born Cartier-Bresson was perhaps being an aesthetic contrarian, the anti-Stieglitz and un-Steichen, resisting the soft-focus tradition of those photographers that often conferred a romantic mist on their subjects.
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