Photo secession

DEFINITION

Organized by Alfred Stieglitz in New York City the movement was composed of carefully selected pictorial photographers who did original photography produced in the United States and abroad. Goals of the group were to promote photography as being equal in fine art stature with painting and sculpture, to make the public aware of the potential of photography, and to promote the dry-plate process of pictorialism, meaning to create work that looked like painting or etching of the time. Most of their photos were black and white or sepia toned, and were created with manipulations such as soft focus, special filters and lens coatings. Stieglitz himself was an expert photographer, and he championed the goals of Photo-Secession in his magazine "Camera Work" (1903-17) and at his Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (1905-1917) at 291 Fifth Avenue. Members included Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Clarence White, Gertrude Kasebier, and Alvin Coborn. Sources: William Innes Homer, The Photo Secession Tripod website; Wikipedia<br><br>An American photography movement from 1905-1917. It was led by Alfred Stieglitz, whose Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession later became Gallery 291 (from its address at 291 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY). Steiglitz edited the journal Camera Work during these years, publishing it from the 291 Gallery.