A black and white photograph shows a heavily-shadowed building with a fire escape in the center…

Images(12)

A black and white photograph showing two cars parked on a street across from a store front with…

A black and white photograph of laundry hung on telephone wires.

A bird's eye view of a bicyclist in the middle of the road and two figures walking on the top r…

A black and white photograph of a young man holding a camera in front of a ragged billboard.

A black and white photograph of a car in front of the Saratoga Coal Company building.

A black and white photograph of a brick façade with the words “Vanderbilt Garage.”

A black and white photograph of thin, wispy clouds in the sky.

A black and white image of the front side of a car and the curb of a nearby sidewalk.

A black and white image of a lone tree and its shadow cast against the snow.

A black and white photograph of a man sitting on a stool looking at a flower and a gun sticking…

A black and white photograph of overlapping palm fronds.

Ralph Steiner, Portfolio II

Artist Ralph Steiner (American, 1899 - 1986)

Date1921 - c. 1980

MediumPhotographs: gelatin silver print; Portfolio: linen and cardboard

DimensionsPortfolio - Open: 18 × 32 3/8 × 2 5/8 inches (45.7 × 82.2 × 6.7 cm)
Portfolio - Closed: 18 × 14 7/8 × 2 5/8 inches (45.7 × 37.8 × 6.7 cm)
Sheet (Smallest Photograph): 1 7/8 × 2 15/16 inches (4.8 × 7.5 cm)
Sheet (Largest Photograph): 8 × 10 inches (20.3 × 25.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. Marvin and Norma Rappaport.

Object number2017.9.1-.12

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Courtesy of the Estate of Ralph Steiner. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextAs a young man learning about photography, Ralph Steiner sought the advice of more seasoned photographers such as Paul Strand (American, 1890–1976) and Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864–1946), profound photographers who had different philosophies on what elements constituted a good photograph. While absorbing their advice, Steiner ultimately decided there was no true formula to creativity, but rather the best photographs were made when he took them to please himself. This belief is apparent in his work from the 1920s. He admitted that he photographed what he liked or what amused him as a young twenty-something living in New York City. Steiner is considered a vanguard of photography today. When he was in college at Dartmouth, he was the first and only student in their newly-offered course on photography. Afterward, he attended one year at the Clarence H. White School of Photography and went on to make successful commercial work for magazines. He also gained a reputation as a filmmaker. H2O, a silent film looking at the abstracted qualities of flowing water, today is considered the second earliest art film by art historians. He took fresh views of the people, places, and objects around him that resulted in keen, unstudied but remarkable photographs. It was this straightforwardness that found an admiring eye in a younger photographer named Walker Evans.

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