Gertrude Käsebier

Gertrude Käsebier was a founding member of the Photo-Secession, the movement organized by Alfred Stieglitz in 1902 to promote photography as a fine art. She was one of the most prominent members alongside Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, and Clarence White, though she later broke with Stieglitz over artistic and personal disagreements.

Käsebier is best known for her Pictorialist style, particularly her soft-focus maternal portraits and evocative studies of motherhood. Her most famous image is arguably 'The Manger' (1899), a symbolic Madonna-like photograph that exemplifies her approach to photographic art.

Yes, Käsebier made a notable series of portraits of Sioux performers, including Chief Iron Tail, who were part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show when it passed through New York around 1898. These portraits are now held in collections including the National Museum of American History.

Käsebier began studying photography relatively late, enrolling at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in her late 30s after raising three children. She opened her own portrait studio on Fifth Avenue in New York in 1897 and quickly became one of the most sought-after photographers of her era.

Käsebier grew frustrated with Alfred Stieglitz's increasingly autocratic control over the Photo-Secession and his shifting artistic priorities. She, along with Clarence White and Alvin Langdon Coburn, eventually distanced herself from Stieglitz and helped form alternative photographic organizations.

Käsebier's photographs are held in major collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Library of Congress, and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester. The University of Delaware also holds significant archival material related to her work.

Yes, Käsebier ran a successful commercial portrait studio in New York and photographed many prominent figures of her time, including Auguste Rodin and Stanford White. She balanced her commercial portrait practice with her fine-art Pictorialist work.

While an exact count is difficult, Käsebier was prolific over her decades-long career, producing thousands of prints and negatives. Her body of work spans fine art, commercial portraiture, and experimental Pictorialist compositions.