Photo-Secession facts for kids
The Photo-Secession was a group of photographers in the early 1900s. They believed photography was a true art form, just like painting or sculpting. Led by Alfred Stieglitz, this group thought that what made a photograph special was how the artist changed or "manipulated" the image to show their own feelings and ideas, not just what the camera saw. This movement helped people see photography as a serious art. It was similar to a British group called the Linked Ring, which also broke away from traditional photography rules.
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How the Photo-Secession Started
The Photo-Secession group began in 1902. Alfred Stieglitz was asked by the National Arts Club to organize an exhibition of the best American photography. While planning the show, Stieglitz disagreed with some club members about which photographers to include. To make his choices stronger, Stieglitz quickly formed a new, invitation-only group called the Photo-Secession. He wanted it to seem like many important photographers supported his ideas. Even though he later said he "enlisted the aid" of the group, he actually created it on February 17, 1902, just two weeks before the exhibition opened.
Stieglitz likely got the idea for the name "Secession" from the 1898 Munich Secession Exhibition in Germany. He was inspired by artists who broke away from old rules to define their own art. In 1899, he wrote about how artists in Munich accepted photography as art, judging it on its own merits.
Stieglitz explained the name this way: "Photo-Secession actually means a seceding from the accepted idea of what constitutes a photograph." This meant they were breaking away from the old, strict ideas about what photography should be.
What Photo-Secession Believed In
The Photo-Secession strongly supported a style called Pictorialism. Pictorialists believed that photographs should look like paintings or etchings. Just as a painter uses brushes and colors to create an effect, a photographer should change or "manipulate" the photo.
They used several methods to do this:
- Soft focus: Making parts of the image slightly blurry to create a dreamy look.
- Special filters and lens coatings: Adding tools to the camera to change the light.
- Darkroom tricks: Using techniques like burning (making areas darker) or dodging (making areas lighter) to change the image. They also cropped photos to improve the composition.
- Different printing processes: Using special ways to print photos, like sepia toning (giving photos a warm, brownish tone), carbon printing, platinum printing, or gum bichromate processing.
The pictures often showed dramatic lighting, interesting angles, and strong shapes. They were usually in monochrome (black and white) and had high contrast.
Stieglitz said the Photo-Secession was a "rebellion against the insincere attitude of the unbeliever." This meant they were fighting against people who didn't believe photography was art. However, he also used the group to boost his own standing in the art world.
Who Was Part of the Group?
Stieglitz had a lot of control over who was in the Photo-Secession. For example, when famous photographer Gertrude Käsebier asked if she was a Photo-Secessionist, Stieglitz replied, "Do you feel that you are?" When she said yes, he said, "Well, that’s all there is to it." But when another photographer, Charles Berg, asked the same question, Stieglitz simply told him he was not, even though Berg's photos were in the exhibition.
The main members of the Photo-Secession were Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Clarence H. White, Gertrude Käsebier, Frank Eugene, and later Alvin Langdon Coburn.
Many other photographers were included in the first exhibition in 1902. Some well-known names were Alice Boughton, F. Holland Day, Mary Devens, Oscar Maurer, and Eva Watson-Schütze.
In 1905, Stieglitz and Steichen opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession. This small but very important gallery showed works by the movement's artists. The group continued to exhibit until about 1910. By then, some photographers grew tired of Stieglitz's strict control and left the group.
In 1916, Käsebier, White, Coburn, and others formed a new group called the Pictorial Photographers of America (PPA). They wanted to keep promoting the pictorial style. A year later, Stieglitz officially ended the Photo-Secession, though it had mostly stopped operating by then.
What Stieglitz Said About the Group
In July 1903, a notice appeared in Camera Work magazine explaining the Photo-Secession. It said the group's goal was to make photography a recognized art form. It aimed to bring together American photographers interested in this art. The group would hold exhibitions that included works from its members and other American photographers.
To become a "Fellow" (a high-level member), a photographer's work had to be unique and special. They also had to truly believe in the group's goals. "Associates" (another type of member) only needed to show sincere support for the group's ideas. Stieglitz made it clear that he was in charge of who joined.
List of Members
The following lists show some of the members of the Photo-Secession, as published in Camera Work in July 1903. Stieglitz decided who belonged to each category.
Fellows (Founders and Council)
- John G. Bullock – Philadelphia
- William. B Dyer. – Chicago
- Dallett Fuguet – New York
- Gertrude Käsebier – New York
- Joseph T. Keiley – New York
- Robert S. Redfield – Philadelphia
- Eva Watson-Schütze – Chicago
- Edward J. Steichen – New York
- Alfred Stieglitz – New York
- Edmund Stirling – Philadelphia
- John F. Strauss – New York
- Clarence H. White – Newark, Ohio
The following were also listed as Fellows, but not part of the Council:
- Alvin Langdon Coburn – Boston
- Mary Devens – Boston
- William B. Post – Fryeburg, Me.
- S. L. Willard – Chicago
Associates
- Prescott Adamson – Philadelphia
- W. P. Agnew – New York
- A. C. Bates – Cleveland, Ohio
- Edward LaVelle Bourke – Chicago
- Annie W. Brigman – Oakland, Cal.
- Norman W. Carkhuff – Washington
- W. E. Carlin – New York
- J. Mitchell Elliot – Philadelphia
- Dr. Milton Franklin – New York
- George A. Heisey – Newark, Oh.
- Sam S. Holzman – New York
- Marshall P. Kernochan – New York
- Sarah H. Ladd – Portland, Ore.
- Chester Abbott Lawrence – New York
- Fred K. Lawrence – Chicago
- Oscar Maurer – San Francisco
- William J. Mullins – Franklin, Pa.
- Olive M. Potts – Philadelphia
- Harry B. Reid – New York
- Harry C. Rubincam – Denver
- T. O'Conor Sloane – Orange, N. J.
- Walter P. Stokes – Philadelphia
- Mrs. George A. Stanbery – Zanesville, Ohio
- Katherine Stanbery – Zanesville, Ohio
- George B. Vaux – Philadelphia
- Mary Vaux – Philadelphia
- Lily E. White – Portland, Ore.
- Myra Wiggins – Salem, Ore.
- Arthur W. Wilde – Philadelphia
Later, many other photographers were listed as Members of the Photo-Secession.
- Charlotte C. Albright – Buffalo, N. Y.
- J. W. Alexander – New York
- John Aspinwall – Newburgh, N.Y.
- Alice Boughton – New York
- A. K. Boursault – New York
- John M. Bowles – New York
- F. E. Brown – Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Francis Bruguière – San Francisco
- Elizabeth Buehrmann – Chicago
- Charles H. Caffin – New York
- S. R. Carter -Toronto, Canada
- Mrs. F. F. Coburn – New York
- C. C. Crowther – Kobe, Japan
- S. D. Dixon – New York
- J. M. Drivet – New York
- Charles B. Duryea – New York
- Hiram Duryea – New York
- W. G. Eckstein – New York
- Frank Eugene – New York
- Herbert G. French – Cincinnati
- George Haviland – New York
- Paul Haviland – New York
- L. A. Heinsheimer – New York
- H. A. Hess – Springfield, Ill.
- J. P. Hodgins – Toronto, Canada
- L. J. R. Holst – New York
- S. S. Hornor – Concordville, Pa.
- F. W. Hunter – New York
- W. F. James – Chicago
- Frances B. Johnston – Washington
- Walter G. Jones – New York
- Edward W. Keck – Rochester, N. Y.
- Spencer, Jr. Kellogg – Buffalo, N. Y.
- J. B. Kerfoot – New York
- R. Kimbell – New York
- Louis A. Lamb – Chicago
- H. W. Lance – New York
- J. N. Laurvik – New York
- S. Brainerd Lawrence – New York
- Adelaide C.[sic] Leeson – Douglas, Alaska
- A. A. Lewis – New York
- Helen. Lohman – New York
- C. H. Macdowell – Chicago
- F. F. Marks – Camden, N. J.
- L. M. McCormick – Asheville, N. C.
- Arthur. Mooney – New York
- Charles Peabody – Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Jeanette B. Peabody – Cambridge, Massachusetts
- F. H. Pratt – Worcester, Mass.
- Landon Rives – Cobham, Va.
- C. W. Roepper – Philadelphia
- L. B. Schram – New York
- Sarah C. Sears – Boston
- George Seeley – Stockbridge, Mass.
- H. S. Smith – Boston
- L. F. Stephany – Pittsburgh
- Albert E. Sterner – New York
- Karl Struss – New York
- Elizabeth R. Tyson – Boston
- S. S. Webber – Trenton, N. J.
- W. E. Wilmerding – New York
See also
In Spanish: Photo-Secession para niños
