Edward Steichen
American, 1879­1973
Self-Portrait with Brush and Palette
1902
Gum-bichromate print
26.7 x 20 cm
Alfred Steiglitz Collection, 1949.823
© Edward Steichen Estate

Steichen, a noted photographer, portrayed himself in this photograph as a painter with a brush and palette. Early in his career, he divided his time between painting and photography. Steichen’s photographs often look like paintings; they don’t have the hard edges and realistic appearance of many photographs. Steichen intended this soft, impressionistic effect; he brushed light-sensitive materials on the photographic paper with a paintbrush to give the photograph the texture of a painting.