Edward Steichen

Born in Luxembourg in 1879, Edward Steichen emigrated with his parents to the United States at the age of one. Initially a painter, it was through his encounter with the Pictorialist movement—particularly Alfred Stieglitz—that he discovered photography. Fascinated by the possibilities offered by this new medium, he developed an exploratory body of work: portraits, still lifes, nudes, landscapes, and cityscapes—Steichen experimented with all subjects using various techniques. A curious mind, he was also interested in botany and practiced horticulture as a knowledgeable amateur. His love of nature, throughout his life, strongly influenced his photographic vision and his attention to reality. For Steichen, nature is a laboratory where he observes life, light, and colors. His works are featured in the world’s most prestigious photography collections (MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, etc.) and are now an integral part of the history of photography.