Steichen's Legacy [Hardcover]

" . . . [S]eeing led to understanding and understanding could transform suspicion, hatred and violence into tolerance, peace and love." This was Steichen's vision for his oeuvre, as reported by his widow, Joanna, in this rewarding retrospective and series of biographical essays. In keeping with that vision, Ms. Steichen has developed this wonderful volume in the following way: "I want the reader to have optimal opportunity to experience the images simply as images." In that, she was remarkably successful. She graciously acknowledges the aid of George Tice, the last of those who printed for Steichen, in preparing the volume.

Each page is gorgeously reproduced in superb size, on great paper, and with thoughtful care concerning the sharpness, lack of sharpness, or contrast required to express Steichen's intent for each image.

Before going further, let me mention that Steichen's work does include female nudity. There are few of these images, and only one is potentially challenging for the viewer. If such things bother you, skip that section of the book called "the Body" or skip this volume.

If you are not familiar with Steichen's personal life, you should know that he and his wife first met when he was 80 and she was 28, when Carl Sandburg, Steichen's brother-in-law, introduced them. They soon fell in love and married. Steichen then drafted her to be his personal assistant, and she became very familiar with his work and collaborators. When he died, he left his negatives to her for use and disposition, and directed that she also decide who was to get his prints. From seeing the care in selecting images and the quality of their reproduction in this volume, he chose well in leaving his artistic legacy to her.

The intent of her selection process was to provide an overview of his life's work, so you get a combination of the famous and the seldom-seen here. These are grouped around themes as follows: Next of Kin (his family); of Woods and Water (landscapes), Reverie (foggy romantic images); Powerful People; Challenging Women; Style; the Body; Artists; Early Color Process; Writers; on the Road; Masters of Music; New York City; Glamour; Scale and Symbol; Improvisation; Forces of Nature; On Stage; and Flowers.

The essays about these sections contain personal anecdotes that are more revealing about his life than his work. But for those who do not know his technique, there is an overview to explain his interests and methods. For example, the connections to painting, abstraction, and setting a mood are well established. The many luminescent images against a dark background, shaded by fuzziness, are explained by his experience with mist on the lens later aided by deliberate use of saliva and indirect lighting.

My favorites of the images here include:

With Studio Camera (self-portrait), 1917

With Photographic Paraphernalia (self-portrait), 1929

Theodore Roosevelt, The White House, 1908

Walter Winchell, New York, 1929

The Cat -- Gloria Swanson, 1924

Mary Steichen, 1917

Shoes, 1927

Douglass Lighters, 1928

Thumbtacks, 1926-1927

Nude Torso, c. 1934

Dana's Hands and Grasses, Long Island, New York, 1923

The First Cast of Brancusi's "Bird in Space", c. 1925

Carl Sandburg, Umpawaug Farm, 1939

Irving Berlin, 1932

George Gershin, 1927

Martha Graham (4), New York, 1931

Noel Coward, New York, 1932

Leslie Howard, 1933

Joan Crawford, 1932

Spiral Shell, France, c. 1921

Ed Wynn, New York, 1930

Katherine Hepburn, 1933

Having seen all of these images, I came away most impressed with those rare occasions when personal character, abstraction, and shadows could be combined into the same image. The results are simply breathtaking.

Steichen has significance in three ways for the modern viewer. He pioneered in making photography an "art" rather than pure representation. These pioneering efforts established many of the major methods used by photographers since. Second, he was an important curator of photography, and he championed many careers. Third, he was remarkably talented in capturing personality, much like the great portrait painters.

The essays add a fourth dimension to Steichen that is well worth our attention. What is it like to be an acknowledged genius in your field? What are the challenges? What are the pitfalls?

"He was full of contradictions." "Meeting the daily needs of individuals was not his concern." "His capacity for connecting truly and intensely operated on a grander scale." In this way, Steichen reminds one of many great people who withdraw into their work. Compared to Einstein, his withdrawal was not nearly as complete. Compared to Picasso, he did not actually torment his family deliberately. But, it is clear that his career came before all else.

"Steichen had a conscience and room for compasssion, but he also had an urgent, lifelong mandate for accomplishment." He comes across as the archetype of the modern self-absorbed striver, and his example bears witnessing. After a rough session in which the author suffered tough treatment from her husband, friends often took her aside to reassure her that everyone eventually found their lives enriched by knowing Steichen. Ms. Steichen echoes that advice in this volume also. So ultimately, the picture you get is of someone where the heart ultimately overcame the obsession with work and self-expression, but not without creating pain for others along the way.

After you finish enjoying this delightful group of great images, I suggest that you think about your own life. Where may you have an obsession that causes pain to those around you? How can you change that approach to create more joy and happiness instead, for others and for yourself? If you are not sure, perhaps the outstanding book, Relationship Rescue, and The Relationship Rescue Workbook can help you.

Accomplish with all your heart!