Georgia O'Keeffe - Torso
🎧 This work has audio narration — listen in the appStieglitz photographed her from below, and the camera never reaches her face. What you see is a torso cut off just above the shoulders and just short of the upper thighs, arms lifted and bent, elbows angled outward, the ribs and breast and hip catching soft light against a dark gray body. The head is simply outside the frame, so the picture asks you to read the body as a form in itself.
That choice is the heart of the piece. The body is treated almost like a carved figure: the raised arms and firm thighs give it a sculptural weight, and the lighting moves across it the way light moves over stone.
Stieglitz made dozens of images of O'Keeffe's body, including her hands and torso, and this one was part of his exhibition at the Anderson Galleries in New York, where he showed several parts of her body together. Herbert Seligmann, writing about the show, described hands, feet, breasts and torsos shown "with a passion of revelation," and said the crowds moving through the rooms were struck by the effect. Today the work is held in major collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A print of this picture sold at Sotheby's New York in February 2006 for $1,360,000, the second-highest price any Stieglitz photograph has reached at auction.
Alfred Stieglitz, born on January 1, 1864, in Hoboken, New Jersey, was a pioneering American photographer and a crucial figure in the promotion of modern art. His dedication over five decades transformed photography into a recognized art form. Stieglitz's early education in Germany fueled his passion for photography, leading him to explore its artistic potential. He began his career by winning awards for his photographs and writing influential articles on the medium.
Stieglitz founded several New York galleries, where he introduced avant-garde European artists to American audiences, significantly shaping the art scene of the early 20th century. His magazine, Camera Work, further established his role as a leading advocate for artistic photography. Stieglitz's personal life was marked by complexity, including a tumultuous marriage to painter Georgia O'Keeffe, which reflected his deep emotional and artistic struggles.
His innovative techniques and commitment to artistic integrity positioned him as a key figure in art history, bridging the gap between photography and fine art. Stieglitz passed away on July 13, 1946, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to influence photographers and artists today.
Yes. Stieglitz made dozens of images of O'Keeffe's body, including a series of her hands, alongside the torso.
A print sold for $1,360,000 at Sotheby's New York on 14 February 2006, the second-highest price any Stieglitz photograph has reached at auction.
