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291 (Art Gallery)
291 (Art Gallery)
291 (Art Gallery)
291 is the commonly known name for an internationally famous art gallery that was located at 291 Fifth Avenue in New York City from 1905 to 1917. Originally known as the "Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession", the gallery was created and managed by photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The gallery is famous for two reasons. First, the exhibitions there helped bring art photography to the same stature in America as painting and sculpture. Pioneering artistic photographers such as Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Gertrude Kasebier and Clarence H. White all gained critical recognition through exhibitions at 291. Equally important, Stieglitz used this space to introduce to the United States some of the most avant-garde European artists of the time, including Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, Henri Rousseau, Paul Czanne, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brncui, Francis Picabia and Marcel Duchamp.
Contents
1 Background 2 The Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (1905-1908) 3 291 is born (1908) 4 At the forefront of modern art in New York (1909-12) 5 Later years (1913-1917) 6 The Essence of 291 7 Legacy 8 List of exhibitions 9 References 10 External links
Background
At the beginning of the 20th century photography's place in the world of fine art was still very indefinite.[1] Although there had been major exhibitions of photography in the Europe and in the U.S., all of them had been judged by painters and sculptors. Photographers were not considered "real" artists, even though many photographers had won awards in international salons. Stieglitz himself had won over 150 awards throughout the world by the end of the 1890s. Stieglitz had hoped to elevate the position of photography by convincing the New York Camera Club to allow him to put together a panel of photographers who would then be the sole judges of a photography competition. After more than a year of arguing with the directors of the Camera Club, many of whom did not have any passion for photography as art, Stieglitz gave up and began looking for other forums. In late 1900 he met Edward Steichen, who had been trained as a painter but who had also taken up photography. Steichen shared the enthusiasm and passion of Stieglitz, and soon the two were planning how to change the course of photography in America. By the following year they had conceived of a great exhibition of photography, the first to be judged by photographers themselves, and had found a venue at the National Arts Club in New York. In March, 1902, and exhibition of "American Pictorial Photography, arranged by The Photo-Secession" opened to critical acclaim. Moreover, Stieglitz had met his goal of having a show judged by photographers since, in spite of the title of the show, by all accounts he was the sole person responsible for
selecting the exhibitors. The following year Stieglitz further cemented his reputation as the leading proponent of fine art photography by launching the famed journal Camera Work with the assistance of his friend and fellow photographer Joseph Keiley. He expected that Camera Work would soon not only be funded completely by its subscribers but that additional income from the sales of the journal would allow him to further promote "photography as a medium of individual expression."[2] While the journal give him a respected forum for showcasing pictorial photography and for publishing his viewpoints, it was not a financial success. Rather than be daunted by this setback, Stieglitz became even more convinced that he would succeed in convincing the art world of the rightful place of photography if he could only find the right platform for his message. By the end of 1904 Stieglitz was in a difficult position. Curtis Bell, president of the American Federation of Photography and an outspoken critic of Stieglitz, organized an exhibition called "The First American Photographic Salon" at the Clausen Galleries in New York. It was judged by a jury of eminent American painters, including William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri, which gave it considerable standing in the art world. Stieglitz and other photographers saw it as a direct challenge to Stieglitz's reputation, which it was clearly intended to be.[3] Stieglitz countered this move by trying to get some of the best know photographers of Europe to join him as part of a united front. He traveled to London to meet with some of the founders of the important photographic group "The Linked Ring," including J. Crag Annan, Frederick H. Evans, Alvin Langdon Coburn and Alfred Horley Hinton. He was hoping to convince them to start a chapter of the Linked Ring in the United States, which he would direct. He also met with playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was an avid amateur photographer, about ways to promote photography as an art form. Unfortunately Stieglitz took ill before any of these conversations led to anything, and he had to return home.[4] He was tired, frustrated and seeking a definitive new way to carry out his mission of promoting photography for photography's sake independent of any other art form.
world, from the time of Hill, the father of pictorial photography, up to date. Many of the prints had been selected for this purpose, but owing to the impossibility of securing at any price adequate gallery accommodations during the desirable New York season, this exhibition must be deferred. The Photo-Secession, for the present thus unable to hold the proposed big exhibition, has determined to present in detail some of the work which had already been selected and which would have been embraced therein, and for that purpose has leased rooms at 291 Fifth Avenue, New York City, where will be shown continuous fortnightly exhibitions of from thirty to forty prints each. These small but very select shows will consist not only of American pictures never before publicly shown in any city in this country, but also Austrian, German, British, French and Belgian photographs as well as such other art productions, other than photographic, as the Council of the Photo-Secession can from time to time secure. It is planned to make these rooms headquarters for all Secessionists and to open them to the public generally".[6] Stieglitz and Steichen had planned the gallery as a commercial space, saying that it would "negotiate sales in behalf of owners of picture exhibited, charging a commission of 15 percent for the benefit of the PhotoSecession treasury."[7] This premise is thought to have been pushed by Steichen, who had a much better business sense, and over the years it became a point of contention between the two men. Stieglitz believed that it was better for an exhibited work to go to someone who appreciated it for its artistic merit rather than its investment potential, and he was known to have quoted wildly inconsistent prices for the same piece depending on what he perceived as the true interest of the potential purchaser. On November 24, 1905, the "Little Galleries of the Photo Secession" formally opened its doors, with almost no public notice. The opening was attended mainly by those members of the Photo-Secession who were in New York at the time. The first exhibit consisted of one hundred prints by Photo-Secession members, selected entirely by Stieglitz. Over the next few weeks hundreds of New Yorkers came to the gallery, and Stieglitz was once again elevated to the position of standard bearer of artistic photographer in America. The opening show was followed in January, 1906, by one of French photographers, including Robert Demachy, Constant Puyo and Ren Le Bgue, all of whom showed prints made by the gum bichromate process. This was followed by a two-person show of the works of Gertrude Ksebier and Clarence H. White. Four more exhibitions were held in 1906, including one of British photographers, early prints by Steichen, a show devoted to German and Austrian photographers, and another exhibition of prints by members of the Photo-Secession. After a highly successful first year, Stieglitz and Steichen felt that they had made their point about the stature of fine art photography. So confident were they of their success that their colleague Joseph Keily wrote "today in America the real battle for the recognition of pictorial photography is over. The chief purpose for which the Photo-Secession was established has been accomplished the serious recognition of photography as an additional medium of pictorial expression." [8] Ironically, Stieglitz began to feel that he had succeeded in transforming the Photo-Secession into something he once disliked an established institution, set in its ways and complacent in its approach to art. If there was any truth to this statement it reflected directly back at Stieglitz since he was known for his authoritarian control of the Photo-Secession and in selecting what was exhibited at the gallery. Until now Stieglitz's discomfort was held in check by Steichen's more conservative nature, but in the summer of 1906 Steichen decided to move to Paris in order to devote more of his time to his photography and painting. Without Steichen's business eye watching over him, Stieglitz began to reclaim some of his radical roots. Stieglitz decided to shake things up, and he did so by mounting the first non-photography show at the gallery in January, 1907. This is notable because it signaled the beginning a Stieglitz's role as a pioneer promoter of modern art in America. The show, drawings by artist Pamela Coleman Smith, initially attracted little attention, but after a prominent critic praised the work it became the best attended exhibition to date. A substantial
number of the works were sold, and interest in the show was so strong that it had to be extended eight days.[5] Stieglitz began planning for future non-photography shows, but for the remainder of 1907 the walls were filled with exhibits by such photographers as Adolf de Meyer, Alvin Langdon Coburn and, once again, members of the Photo-Secession. In the meantime, Steichen had become friends with the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin in Paris, and he convinced Rodin to lend him some of his drawings for a show at the gallery in New York. The 1908 gallery season started with the show "Drawings by Auguste Rodin", the first exhibit in the United States of his works on paper. The show caused a significant amount of controversy in the press, with one critic saying "they are not the sort of thing to offer to public view even in a gallery." [9] Soon after that show ended Stieglitz was notified that the landlord wanted to double the rent and would require a four-year lease. At that time the Photo-Secession as a group had only a small income, no more than US$400 per year. In spite of minor successes, the original plan that membership fees and commissions would support the gallery had not been realized. Although he appealed to those members that he knew, the economy was in a significant downturn and no offers of assistance appeared. Since there was no other source of income, Stieglitz sadly went about closing the gallery. By April of that year the original gallery space had been emptied. It was immediately taken over by a ladies' tailor shop.[10]
Meanwhile, Steichen returned to the U.S. in February 1908 with a new group of photos for a show to be held at the galley the following month. More importantly, he brought with him a group of prints lent to him by Henri Matisse, who at that time little known outside of France. Stieglitz promptly assembled the prints for an show at in the new space. It was the first show of any work by Matisse in the United States and the first one-man show for the artist outside of Paris, and it marked the turning point in the focus of the gallery. After this show, 291 was known much less for photography and much more as a leading force for modern art in America. Moreover, Stieglitz continued to make sure that the gallery was not just an exhibition space; he strongly believed in its original mission as being an educational facility and meeting place for those with avant-garde ideas. Describing the Matisse exhibition, he wrote "Here was the work of a new man, with new ideas a very anarchist, it seemed, in art. The exhibition led to many heated controversies; it proved stimulating."[3]
In fact, the more an artist confounded the public the more Stieglitz felt justified in his efforts. When he presented Picassos first exhibit in this country in 1911, Stieglitz delighted in telling critics that the works they called the gibberings of a lunatic he found to be as perfect as a Bach fugue.[3] Among the significant exhibitions that took place during this period were first shows for Alfred Maurer, John Marin and Marsden Hartley, second shows of Rodin and Matisse, and important shows for newer artists Arthur Carles, Arthur Dove and Max Weber.
Strand, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe, who by then had become his wife. In 1929 he opened "An American Place", where he presented the work of the Seven Americans (Hartley, Marin, Dove, Demuth, O'Keeffe, Strand and Stieglitz) until his death in 1946.[15]
Legacy
Over the gallery's 13 year existence, the exhibitions held there included an impressive list of firsts in both photography and modern art:[17] 1907: The first show of Autochrome prints in the United States 1908: The first showing of Rodin's late pencil and watercolor figure drawings 1908: The first exhibition of Matisse's work ever held in the United States 1910: The first three lithographs made by Czanne were shown 1911: The first U.S. one-person exhibition of Czanne 1911: The first U.S. one-person exhibition of Picasso 1912: The world's first exhibition of Matisse's sculpture.
List of exhibitions
The definitive source book for 291 and the exhibitions held there is Sarah Greenough's massive Modern Art
The definitive source book for 291 and the exhibitions held there is Sarah Greenough's massive Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries (Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2000). This list is found on pp. 543547. 1905 1906 November 24 Exhibition of Members Work - January 4 January 10 January 24 February 5 February 19 Exhibition of Work by French Photographers Photographs by Gertrude Ksebier and Clarence White
February 21 First Exhibition of British Photographers March 7 March 9 March 24 Photographs by Eduard J. Steichen
April 7 - April Vienenese and German Photographers 28 November 10 - December Exhibition of Members Work 30 1907 January 5 January 24 January 25 February 12 February 19March 5 March 11 April 10 Drawings by Pamela Coleman Smith Photographs by Baron A. De Meyer & George Seeley Photographs by Alice Boughton, William B. Dyer, C. Yarnall Abbott Photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn
November 18 - December Exhibition of Members Work 30 1908 January 2 January 21 February 7 February 25 Drawings by Auguste Rodin Photographs by George Seeley
February 26 - Etchings and Book Plates by Willi Geiger, Etchings by D. S. McLauuhlan, Drawings March 11 by Pamela Coleman Smith March 12 April 2 Photographs by Eduard J. Steichen
April 6 - April Drawings, lithographs, water colors, etchings by Henri Matisse 25 December 8 Exhibition of Members December 30 1909 January 4 Caricatures in Charcoal by Marius de Zayas & Autochromes by J. Nilsen Laurvik
Photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn Photographs in Color and Monochrome by Baron A. De Meyer
February 26 Etchings, Dry-points & Bookplates by Allen Lewis March 10 March 17 March 27 March 30 April 17 Drawings by Pamela Coleman Smith Sketches in oil by Alfred Maurer & Water colors by John Marin
April 21 -May Photographs of Rodins Balzac, by Eduard J. Steichen 7 May 8 May Paintings by Marsden Hartley l8 May 18 - June Exhibition of Japanese Prints from the F. W. Hunter Collection, New York 2 November 24 - December Monotypes and drawings by Mr. Eugene Higgins 17 December 20 Lithographs by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - January 14 January 21 1910 February 5 February 7 February 19 Color photographs by Eduard J. Steichen
February 23 Drawings and Photographs of paintings by Henri Matisse March 8 March 9 March 21 March 21 April 18 April 26 May Younger American Painters (included Arthur Dove, John Marin, Max Weber and Edward Steichen) Drawings Auguste by Rodin Caricatures by Marius de Zayas
November 18 Lithographs by Manet, Czanne, Renoir, and Toulouse-Lautrec; drawings by Rodin; - December 8 paintings and drawings by Henri Rousseau December 14 Drawings and etchings by Gordon Craig - January 12 1911 January 11 January 31 February 2 February 22 Drawings and paintings by Max Weber Recent water colors by John Marin
Water colors by Czanne Early and recent drawings and water colors by Pablo Picasso
November 8 Water colors by Gelett Burgess December 17 December 18 Photographs by Baron A. De Meyer - January 15 1912 January 17 February 3 February 7 February 26 Paintings by Arthur B. Carles Paintings and drawings by Marsden Hartley
February 27 Paintings and pastels by Arthur G. Dove March 12 March 14 April 6 April 11 May 10 Sculpture and drawings by Henri Matisse Drawings, water colors and pastels by children, aged two to eleven
November 20 - December Caricatures by Alfred J. Frueh 12 December 15 Drawings and paintings by Abraham Walkowitz - January 14 1913 January 20 February 15 Water colors by John Marin
February 24 Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz March 15 March 17 April 5 Exhibition of New York studies by Francis Picabia
April 8 - May Exhibition of caricatures by Marius de Zayas 20 November 19 Drawings, pastels and water colors by A. Walkowitz - January 3 1914 January 12 February 14 Paintings by Marsden Hartley
February 18 Second exhibition of childrens work March 11 March 12 April 4 Sculpture by Constantin Brncui
November 3 December 8 African sculpture (titled "Sanctuary in Wood by African Savages") December 9 - Drawings and paintings by Picasso & Braque; Archaic Mexican pottery and January 11 carvings; Kalogramas by Torres Palomar of Mexico 1915 January 12 January 26 January 27February 22 Recent paintings by Francis Picabia Paintings by Marion H. Beckett & Katherine N. Rhoades
February 23 Oils, water colors. Etchings and drawings by John Marin March 26 March 27 April 16 Third exhibition of childrens drawings
November 10 Drawings and paintings by Oscar Bluemner December 7 December 8 Sculpture and drawings by Elie Nadelman January 19 1916 January 18 February 12 February 14March 12 March 13 April 3 Recent water colors by John Marin Drawings and water colors by A. Walkowitz Photographs by Paul Strand
April 4 - May Paintings by Marsden Hartley 22 May 23 July Drawings by Georgia OKeeffe, water colors and drawings by C. Duncan, oils by 5 Ren Lafferty November 22 Water colors and drawings by Georgia S. Engelhard of New York, a child ten years - December old; paintings and drawings by Hartley, Marin, Walkowitz, Wright & O'Keeffe 20 December 17 Water colors by A. Walkowitz - January 17 1917 January 22 February 7 Marsden Hartley recent work
February 14 Water colors by John Marin March 3 March 6 March 17 March 20 March 31 Paintings, drawings, pastels by Gino Severini Paintings and sculpture by S. Macdonald-Wright
References
References
1. ^ Jay Bochner (2005). An American Lens: Scenes from Alfred Stieglitz's New York Secession. Cambridge, MIT Press. p. 2. 2. ^ Richard Whelan (2000). Stieglitz on Photography: His Selected Essays and Writings. Millerton, NY: Aperture. p. 19. 3. ^ a b c d Sarah Greenough (2000). Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries. Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 2653. 4. ^ Katherine Hoffman (2004). Stieglitz : A Beginning Light. New Haven: Yale University Press Studio. p. 222. 5. ^ a b Robert Doty (1960). Photo-Secession: Photography as Fine Art. Rochester, NY; George Eastman House. p. 43. 6. ^ Camera Work, no. 12. October 1905. p. 59. 7. ^ Photo Era. October 1905. p. 147. 8. ^ Camera Work, no. 16. October 1906. p. 51. 9. ^ Reprint of a newspaper review (April 1908). Camera Work, no. 22. p. 39. 10. ^ a b c Dorothy Norman (1973). Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer. NY: Random House. pp. 7580. 11. ^ Sue Davidson Lowe (1983). Stieglitz: A Memoir/Biography Seer. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. pp. 13638. 12. ^ Camera Work, no. 25. January 1909. p. 22. 13. ^ Dorothy Norman, editor (Fall-Winter, 1938). "from the Writings of Alfred Stieglitz," Twice a Year #1. p. 88. 14. ^ Weston Naef (1978). The Collection of Alfred Stieglitz Fifty Pioneers of Modern Photography. NY: Viking. p. 182. 15. ^ Alfred Stieglitz's Gallery 291 (http://www.georgia-okeeffe.com/gallery291.html) 16. ^ Camera Work, no. 47. July 1914. p. 40. 17. ^ Melissa Seckora: Modern Champions (http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/art/artseckora020301.shtml)
External links
Alfred Stieglitz and Gallery 291 (http://www.smu.edu/ecenter/discourse/schieb2.htm) History of 291 (http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/modart_2.shtm) , written by the U.S. National Gallery of Art (with an emphasis towards the 291's role in painting rather than photography). Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/291_(Art_Gallery)" Categories: Culture of New York City | Photography museums and galleries | 1905 establishments in the United States | 1917 disestablishments | Defunct art galleries in Manhattan This page was last modified on 5 May 2011 at 14:53. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.