"PHOTO-SECESSION. STIEGLITZ AND THE FINE-ART MOVEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHY" par Robert DOTY. Editions Dover, New York. 1978. Grand in-8, dos droit, couverture souple cartonnée photo (état d'usage). 140 pages. Texte en anglais, avant-propos Beaumont Newhall, illustré de 91 reproductions photographiques hors-texte, de photographes tels : Joseph T. Keiley, Alvin Langdon, Harry C. Rubincam, Sarah C. Sears, George H. Seeley, Edward J. Steichen, Clarence H. White...

 

"For half a century photographers knocked at the doors of salons, seeking the admission of their photographs as works of art, to be judged by the same critical standards as paintings, drawings, etchings, engravings and lithographs. Many mistakenly took the easy course of imitation, and forced the photographic medium to resemble other kinds of graphic art. A few pioneers, of greater imagination and taste, clarified the problem; they began to formulate an esthetic based on the characteristics of the photographic process… In 1902 Stieglitz announced the formation of a new society, the "Photo-Secession." Nothing like it had been seen before; it was an outpost of modern art. With his friends - Eduard Steichen in particular - Stieglitz was to demonstrate the place of photography in the broad stream of art. They did this by exhibiting the work of the members throughout the world, and by exhibiting in New York City, in the modest galleries of the Photo-Secession at 291 Fifth Avenue, the work of photographers from Europe and America. To define the position of photography, Stieglitz and Steichen soon found themselves exhibiting works of art in other media - and thus introduced to America many painters and sculptors who have since become world famous. Beyond these activities, Stieglitz himself published a quarterly magazine, Camera Work, which put on record, in fifty numbers, the work of the Photo-Secession. In its pages were superb reproductions of what was shown at the galleries, with criticisms, essays, articles. What Alfred Stieglitz and his colleagues accomplished spread far beyond New York City and the pages of Camera Work; it was not only the clearest and most convincing demonstration of the position of photography in the fine arts that has yet been undertaken in the history of photography, it was a revolution. Our appreciation and respect for the medium of photography owes its foundation to the Photo-Secession; the spirit which was created more than half a century ago has become tradition…"

 

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