Customer Reviews

Steichen: A Biography

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This book may look formidable by its size, but what a wonderful world you will enter once you begin the story of this photographic genius and his place in time. Niven's work is carefully researched and Steichen's relationships with Steiglitz, Rodin and other artistic greats of the turn of the century are all detailed . She carefully documents his work at the Army and Navy, Vanity Fair, and MOMA. Of added interest is the story about his sister's marriage to Carl Sandburg and the close relationship Steichen and Sandburg devleoped. Enjoy!

Surprisingly, this is the only biography I have found so far about Edward Steichen. Thank goodness it is an excellent one, combining extraordinary research with fine writing. For those interested in Edward Steichen's long and productive life as well as his work, this is a "must have" book, especially now that there is a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Whitney Museum in New York.

Steichen was a genius, and never more so than when he influenced Alfred Steiglitz to show Picasso, Matisse, Rodin, Marin, etc for the first time ever in the United States. Steiglitz is given credit, sometimes wholly, but truly it wouldn't have happened without Steichen. I recommend this wonderful book!

This is an exhaustively researched and beautifully written book about a major force in American photography and American life. There have been many academic and art books devoted to the work of Edward Steichen, and he has written about himself on one or two occasions, but never had someone written the definitive biogaphy . . . until Penelope Niven decided to do so after "getting to know Steichen" during the years she spent researching and writing about his equally famous brother-in-law, Carl Sandburg.

Readers should not be put off by the book's density (it runs to almost 800 pages). Niven is exhaustive but not exhausting, and her narrative is easy to read, detailing the long and fascinating life of an extraordinary man. The biography is also extremely accurate. Future writers in years to come will look to this book for critical source material. The author is a born researcher.

The book is presently out-of-print, a lamentable situation given the recent Whitney Museum of American Art Steichen retrospective and a dazzling new book by Steichen's widow, Joanna Steichen. This biography, if it had been available, would have been a fine accompaniment to both, giving museumgoers and general readers the chance to learn more about this American artist,and providing a counterbalance to Joanna Steichen's more visual, personal, and introspective book.

In sum, this is the grand story of the life of an important American artist, written by a biographer not an art historian. As such, it will appeal to a wide range of readers. We look for a paperback edition of this book, and can only hope one will soon be available.

Penelope Niven was a natural for this Steichen biography. She'd spent years writing Carl Sandburg's biography - a gargantuan effort done splendidly. Edward Steichen and Sandburg were brother-in-laws and Niven had a trusted working relationship with the Sandburg family which gave her an insider's view on this gifted man. A fine read.

I borrowed a copy of this from a friend and found it so interesting I had to order a copy for myself. Unfortunately, its out of print and I had to settle for a used copy. If you can find one, grab it! For photographers interested in the history of our art form, it will be inspiring.

This book is an incredibly fascinating look at the life of one of the most important men in the melding of art and photography. I am accustomed to looking at photographers mostly through their work, and I was a little hesitant to actually read a biography of a photographer. But Steichen's life is so fascinating, and he existed in such a rich time period for art and photography, that I found this account to be totally enveloping. I had trouble putting this book down, all 700 pages of it. Really a must book for any photographer to understand the roots of a Master photographer/artist and also the emergence of photography as a true fine art form. It is well worth investing the time to read this book.