Modern Art & America: Alfred Stieglitz’s New York Galleries

Alfred Stieglitz was not only an American photographer who was instrumental in making photography an accepted art form, but a promoter who did more to introduce modern art to an American public than—arguably—any other single individual. In this course, we explore the significance Alfred Stieglitz had in the first half of the 20th century in forming how Americans view art. We explore his three New York City galleries, including the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession—known as 291, which staged some of the most important early exhibitions of modern art held in America, featuring artists like Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, and other European modernists, for many the first showings of their work in New York. We examine the artists he chose to show and collect, as well as the process behind the establishment of his galleries. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for 30 days.