Kathryn Kearney, 2021

Imogen Cunnighham’s portrait of Alfred Stieglitz is telling of his serious character, successful career, and close relationship with Georgia O’Keeffe. Cunnigham’s shot of Stieglitz is staged in front of one of O’Keeffe’s paintings that were on display in Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place. Dressed in formal clothes, Stieglitz has a look of sheer professionalism and pride in his eyes. Cunningham leaves room for the viewer to see into An American Place and the work of O’Keeffe. The viewer can make out Stieglitz’s sheer expression of professionalism and discern for his career in that way that Cunningham adjusted the lighting to direct one’s immediate focus to her subject. Because Steglitz is lighter than the background, the darker shades of O’Keeffe’s painting blend in with his overcoat. Cunningham’s angling of Steglitz blends the outer edge of his frame with the denser strokes of paint on a diagonal across O’Keeffe’s canvas.

Stieglitz’s face is in the absolute center of the portrait and his eyes are a third of the way down from the top of the photograph. Using the rule of thirds, Cunningham naturally draws the viewer towards Stieglitz’s body with the O’Keeffe’s painting behind him. The portrait itself frames  O’Keeffe’s composition while her work frames Steglitz. Balance within the portrait exists because of how wide Stieglitz’s stance is as it intersects with the borders of O’Keeffe’s work. 

It is evident that Stieglitz’s relationship with O’Keeffe both as an artist and admirer was of great importance to him. While maintaining the idea that Steiglitz is the focal point of the portrait, O’Keeffe’s recognizable painting provides softness and balance to the portrait. The lines of her painting frame Steglitz as his strategic positioning allowing the viewer to see beyond him as the individual and into a space that was of great value to him. 

Imogen Cunningham captures a moment in which Steglitz is asserting his dominance by being photographed in a space that he created for artists to showcase their work while respecting the craft of O’Keefe. Cunningham’s precision as a photographer parallels the positioning of Steglitz in this portrait as he leans inwards towards the painting, but is not fully enveloped by the composition. The expression on his face is wary, raw and focused. Cunningham reveals Stieglitz’s steadiness in this portrait that reads as a narrative of his carefully crafted gallery and strong relationship with O’Keeffe.