In Focus: Alfred Stieglitz : Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum [Paperback]

Weston Naef (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 1995

This latest volume in the acclaimed In Focus series examines the life and work of Alfred Stieglitz, concentrating on the Getty Museum's considerable holdings of the work of this American master. In his studies of his wife, Georgia O'Keefe, in his portraits of the urban scene, and in his pictures of natural form, Stieglitz defined the modern movement on photography. In his periodical Camera Work he championed photography as an art form; in his famous gallery "An American Place," he promoted the work of other American modernists. Fifty reproductions with commentaries by Weston Naef, the Getty's curator of photographs, represent both the range of the Getty's collection and the importance of Stieglitz's contribution. The book also includes an edited colloquium on Stieglitz's life and work. Participants included Emmit Gowin, Sarah Greenough, Charles Hagen, John Szarkowski, and Weston Naef.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It's hard to imagine what another book about Stieglitz, the most written-about figure in American photography, could contribute. Well, this one offers some unfamiliar images and, more notably, an essay arguing that Stieglitz did his best work late in life at his family retreat at Lake George, New York. Photographic curator and historian John Szarkowski is responsible for the latter, which advances a Stieglitz who in the late work turned from public themes and public life to personal symbols (clouds and dying poplar trees) and to sweetly human descriptions of friends, young women, and, of course, his fascinating wife, Georgia O'Keeffe. Whether these late pictures are Stieglitz's best is really still an open question. Contradicting the self-mythologizing of his earlier work, however, these 93 photographs, full of a heartfelt directness, show him to be a man like other men, who appreciated beauty, the weather, family, friends, and home. Gretchen Garner

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 1 edition (November 23, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892363037
• ISBN-13: 978-0892363032
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,561,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the original greats of photography., August 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In Focus: Alfred Stieglitz : Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Paperback)

Steiglitz is one of the great masters of the art of photography. Married to producing quality material, his work will never be "out of style." In addition, today's media obsessed population can find excitement in the stories of his personal life with Georgia O'Keefe. So it seems as though there's something for all.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Content, Mediocre Printing, September 27, 2009

By 

Preston S. Page "Preston Page" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Focus: Alfred Stieglitz : Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Paperback)

For such a giant in the world of photography, it is surprising how little is in print about Steiglitz. The In Focus book, as with others in the series, delivers a consise background for each photo, presented in more or less chronological order. The emphasis on his relationship with O'Keefe overshadows his work to some degree, which is unfortunate because he was a mover and shaker before the two met. In the end, though, I have two real complaints: 1) The print quality is mediocre, at best (Steiglitz is spinning in his grave), and 2) the physical size of the book is too small. Given the retail price, it does not compete well with books from Tachen.