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| A Wet Day, on the Boulevard, Paris Alfred Stieglitz, 1894? |
At the suggestion of long-time friend of the blog Jed, we’re going to expand our definition of fine art to include photography. His suggestion was Alfred Stieglitz. The Wikipedia entry does not do him justice. I’ve spent the better part of the morning researching him, and he had a fascinating life. Boiling it down to a few paragraphs also does not do him justice. After Wikipedia, read this article, which is heavy on his works.
Born in 1865, Stieglitz was the photographer who was perhaps the most important to getting photography accepted as art. Interestingly, he was married to painter Georgia O’Keeffe. One may speculate on her influence over his photographic eye during that marriage.
His father, Edward, was his early patron, purchasing a photography studio so that Alfred could earn a living after he declined to sell any of his photographs. He later married an heiress, a marriage which did not last because she did not share his artistic interests. They were divorced in 1924 and he quickly married O’Keeffe, with who he had had a relationship for some time.
Unlike so many artists, especially those who work in a medium that originally was not seen as art, Stieglitz was acknowledged for his abilities during his lifetime. He died after a series of heart attacks, with O’Keeffe at his side.
Note: Fine Art Tuesday was started by Eaton Rapids Joe in memory of Ol’ Remus, late proprietor of the Woodpile Report. If you’re a blogger and are so moved, please feel free to do your own Fine Art Tuesday post.
