A free virtual exhibition of 15 photographs by Alfred Stieglitz that you can walk through in your browser, on desktop or phone, with nothing to install. The room brings together The Steerage and The Flatiron, two landmarks of modern photography, alongside early European scenes and his portraits of Georgia O'Keeffe.
About Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) was an American photographer, editor and gallerist who did more than anyone to win acceptance for photography as a fine art. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, he studied in Berlin in the 1880s, where he took up photography, and returned to New York in 1890. In 1902 he founded the Photo-Secession, and the following year launched the quarterly Camera Work, celebrated for its photogravure reproductions. His Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession at 291 Fifth Avenue, known simply as "291," showed photographs alongside some of the first exhibitions in America of Rodin, Matisse, Cézanne and Picasso. Stieglitz championed American modernists such as John Marin, Arthur Dove and Georgia O'Keeffe, whom he married in 1924 and photographed for many years. His later galleries, including An American Place, continued that mission until his death.
Highlights in this room
The Terminal
On a freezing New York day, a driver tends his steaming horses at the end of a streetcar line. Stieglitz made the picture with a hand-held camera, then a new and unfashionable tool for serious photographers. The scene shows that the modern city itself could be a subject for art.
The Flatiron
The new Flatiron Building rises out of a snowy park, framed by a tree in the foreground. The soft, atmospheric treatment owes much to painting and to Japanese prints. It captures a skyscraper as something almost poetic.
The Steerage
Taken aboard a transatlantic liner in 1907, it shows passengers crowded on the lower deck, divided by a gangway, funnel and stairs. Stieglitz later said he saw it as a pattern of shapes as much as a social scene. It is often cited as one of the first modernist photographs.
Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands and Thimble
Part of his long portrait of O'Keeffe, this image focuses on her hands holding a needle and thimble. By isolating a gesture, Stieglitz suggests that a portrait can be built from fragments. The palladium print gives the skin a soft, warm tonality.
How to enjoy the exhibition
- Compare print processes. Platinum and palladium prints have long, subtle grays; carbon prints are rich and deep; gelatin silver prints can be crisp and contrasty. Click a work to read its label and find out which process was used.
- Look for the photogravure. Reflection—Venice is printed in ink from an etched plate, the method Stieglitz used to reproduce photographs in Camera Work.
- Follow the move to modernism. Walk from the soft, painterly early pictures to The Steerage and the sharp views from his window at An American Place.
- Notice weather and atmosphere. Snow, rain and steam recur in his city pictures, softening hard edges and unifying the scene.
- Read the portraits as a series. Stieglitz believed one picture could not capture a person, so view the portraits of O'Keeffe, Marin and Dove together.
If you enjoy this room, continue to the Nadar virtual exhibition for the portrait photography of the generation before, or read what a virtual gallery is.
Create a room like this for your own work
This room was built with Xibit360, the same tool any artist can use. You can light and frame each work individually, set the mood with themes and layouts, exhibit video works alongside still images, and embed the finished room on your own website. A photographer can present a series in sequence, with labels for each image's date, place and print process. It is free to start, and upgrades are one-time purchases, with no subscription.
Know an artist who should see this?
If you know a photographer whose work deserves a space like this, send them this page. They can walk through the room above to see what is possible, and picture their own work on the walls.
FAQ
Is the Stieglitz virtual exhibition free?
Yes. The exhibition is free to visit in your browser, and you can walk through all 15 works at your own pace.
Can I view it on my phone?
Yes. The same walkable space works on desktop and on phone, so you can explore the room wherever you are.
Are Stieglitz's photographs of Georgia O'Keeffe in the exhibition?
Yes. The room includes a 1918 portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe and Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands and Thimble from 1919, part of the long series of portraits he made of her.