Edward Steichen (1879-1973) is one of the most important figures in the
history of photography. During his active career, which lasted over half the
life span of photography, he was renowned as an artist, fashion photographer, curator, writer, and technical innovator.

He was also a passionate advocate for photography as an art form, and led, along with Alfred Stieglitz, an aesthetic revolution that enabled photography to be considered as a medium capable of interpretation and expression, and not as a mere documentary record of visual facts.

Steichen took up photography in 1895, at the age of sixteen, and was self-taught. During his early career, around the turn of the century, he was associated wit...