EXHIBITION NOTES FOR TEACHERS
EDWARD STEICHEN: IN HIGH FASHION, THE
CONDÉ NAST YEARS 1923-1937
31 OCT 2014 – 18 JAN 2015
This prolific and
inventive photographer
must be given credit for
virtually inventing
modern fashion
photography, and as
the thousands of highquality original prints
in the Condé Nast
archives prove, only
Irving Penn and
Richard Avedon have
since emerged as
serious historical rivals
William A. Ewing
Edward Steichen, Actress Gloria Swanson, 1924
Edward Steichen, Actress Mary Heberden, 1935
These exhibition notes give an introduction to the exhibition and suggest points
for discussion on your visit.
Note: We recommend that you make a pre-visit to the exhibition before
bringing a class.
To book a group visit, tour or workshop, please see the Education section of our
website: www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk
These notes are written by Jai
Tyler, Education and Projects
Organiser at The
Photographers’ Gallery.
For more information please
contact:
[email protected]
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Page 2 of 3
It is an error
common to many
artists, [who] strive
merely to avoid
mistakes, when all
our efforts should be
to create positive and
important work.
Better positive and
important with
mistakes and failures
than perfect
mediocrity.
Edward Steichen
Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, The Condé Nast Years 1923-1937 installation, © Kate Elliott
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION
This is the UK premiere of Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, The Condé Nast
Years 1923-1937 which includes over 200 vintage prints, many on public
display for the first time since the 1930s. It is important to note that these
prints were originally made as ‘working prints’ and were intended only for
reproduction in Vogue or Vanity Fair, they were not made to be exhibited. They
have been mounted and framed to protect their condition within the Condé
Nast archive.
Brought together especially for this exhibition, they mark the period when
Steichen was working for Condé Nast on its two most prestigious publications,
Vogue and Vanity Fair. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity, not just to
witness a key period in history, but also to gain insight into Steichen’s
distinctive approach towards portraiture and fashion photography.
Steichen was already an internationally celebrated painter and photographer
when in 1923 he was offered the lucrative and high profile position of chief
photographer at Condé Nast. During his tenure, Steichen was said to have
been the best known and highest paid photographer in the world and is
universally credited with being the father of modern fashion photography
For the next fifteen years Steichen would take full advantage of the resources
and prestige conferred by his role to produce an oeuvre of unequalled
brilliance. He put his exceptional talents to work defining the culture of his
time, photographing iconic figures in politics, literature, journalism, dance,
theatre and above all, the world of haute-couture fashion.
In High Fashion presents rare photographs of designs from Chanel, Lanvin,
Lelong, Patou and Schiaparelli alongside a series of stunning portraits. These
include luminaries such as Greta Garbo, Winston Churchill, Marlene Dietrich,
George Gershwin, Frank Lloyd Wright, W.B. Yeats and Fred Astaire.
The works in the exhibition convey Steichen’s forward thinking and ‘painterly’
techniques. He borrowed from a range of aesthetic movements including
Impressionism, Art Nouveau and Symbolism to create a characteristic Art Deco
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style. Within his meticulous compositions, he treated his subjects (be they
prominent public figures, models or clothes) as vehicles through which to
explore shape, form, texture, light and shade.
His influence and legacy is evident across the spectrum of photography. Horst
P. Horst, Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber are just a few of his most illustrious
descendants and his work continues to influence photographers across the
globe, including celebrated fashion photographer Viviane Sassen, who is also
exhibiting at the Gallery this season.
DISCUSSION POINTS
−
Edward Steichen was hired to create both portraits and fashion
photographs for Condé Nast, a large magazine publisher in the United
States. Which do you think are more successful, his portraits or his fashion
shots, and why?
−
The exhibition curators (the people who put the show together) have
commented that Steichen "photographed for the printed page" by including
strong diagonals in his compositions and by photographing many of his
subjects from the side, rather than straight on. How might this have helped
the magazine picture editors when putting their magazines together?
−
This exhibition shows photographs that were printed to be used in
magazines. How is it different seeing them matted and framed on the
gallery walls? Can you find some photographs that have been 'retouched' or
with 'crop marks' with instructions for how they should be printed in the
magazine?
−
Edward Steichen said: A portrait is not made in the camera but on either
side of it. Discuss what you think he means by this.
VISITOR INFORMATION
ADMISSION
GROUP VISITS
Free on Mon-Fri, 10.00 – 12.00
Free to 16 years and under
£1 per head for pre-booked
education groups including teachers
and group leaders
£4.50 standard/£3.50 concession
To book a group visit, tour or
workshop please see the
‘Education’ section of our
website.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday – Saturday 10.00 – 18.00
Thursday 10.00 – 20.00
Sunday 11.30 – 18.00
THE CAFÉ IS OPEN
Monday – Friday 9.00 – 18.00
Thursday 9.00 – 20.00
Saturday 10.00 – 18.00
Sunday 11.30 – 18.00
CONTACT US
+44 (0)20 7087 9300
[email protected]
thephotographersgallery.org.uk
16 – 18 Ramillies Street,
London W1F 7LW