Gertrude Käsebier was an early supporter of the Pictorialism movement, which sought to reverse the idea that photography could not be painterly. Joining the likes of Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen in the Photo Secession group, she adopted several older, labor-intensive printing styles, used alternative chemicals that yielded more nuanced tonal ranges, and reworked her plates with paintbrushes and other methods before printing. In the pictorialists’ hands, photography was art and being a photographer was a professionalized artistic craft.
Research Highlights: Insights into the American Art Collection at Rollins Museum of Art
When Photography Became Art: Pictorialism
Today I would like to consider two photographs by American photographers, The Red Man by Gertrude Käsebier and Ziletta by […]