Edward Steichen

11 The Steichen Prints of the National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg Provenance and Reception of an Extraordinary Collection Michel Polfer

25 The Identi cation, Conservation, and Preservation of the Photographs for the MNHA’s Edward Steichen Collection: A Unique Project Kerstin Bartels

41 The MNHA Bequest in Relation to Other Steichen Bequests Around the World: Number, Origin, and Subjects Malgorzata Nowara

49 The Prints from the MNHA’s Steichen Bequest: Techniques, Dating, and Inscriptions Malgorzata Nowara

55 Edward Steichen: The “Lëtzebuerger Jong” who Brought Modernism to the New World Gerd Hurm

69 At Home in the Museum: Edward Steichen’s Family Photographs at the National Museum of History and Art Françoise Poos

79 Catalog Introduction

83 01 -- Early Landscapes

02 -- Rodin’s Balzac

03 -- Family

04 -- Portraits

05 -- Nudes

06 -- Theater

07 -- Advertising & Fashion

08 -- Experiments

09 -- Nature

10 -- Color

11 -- Other photographers

Reference Literature

POLFER THE STEICHEN PRINTS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ART LUXEMBOURG

Introduction

This is not the place to trace in detail the life and career of Edouard (Edward) Steichen, who was born on March 27, 1879 in the Luxembourg village of Bivange, emigrated with his parents to Hancock (Michigan) in the United States at the tender age of almost two, and became a naturalized US citizen there in 1900.1 Steichen indeed left behind an ex traordinarily multifaceted artistic life’s work, not only as a photographer but also, among other things, as a “camera avant-gardist and plant grower, war reporter and children’s book illustrator, fashion photographer and museum director, ecologist and conceptual artist, textile designer and exhibition curator,” to quote his 2019 biographer, Gerd Hurm.2

Just as complex as his life’s work was Steichen’s lifelong close relationship with Luxembourg.3

His attitude toward his country of origin remained complex and was, in the course of his life, rather changeable; the often quoted greeting of the 84-year-old Steichen “Ech sin e Lëtzebuerger Jong”4 (I am a Luxembourgish boy) at a reception for Grand Duchess Charlotte given at the White House by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 re ects only one side of this. In fact, Steichen’s attitude toward Luxembourg had by no means always been so clearly positive. In his autobiography A Life in Photography, 5 also published in 1963, he mentions his Luxembourgish roots only once and rather casually, as the birthplace of his mother.6

It was thus by no means preordained that the last surviving original versions of the two most important exhibitions Steichen curated at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), namely The Family of Man and The Bitter Years, would be donated, during his lifetime and at his own instigation, to the country of his birth.

Neither was it to be expected that in 1985 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would receive from Steichen’s estate a signi cant body of his own works, which have since become part of the collections of the Musée national d’histoire et d’art Luxembourg (MNHA).7

The Family of Man and The Bitter Years have since long continued to be the object of scholarly interest, both in terms of the history of their creation and impact as well as in terms of the circumstances of their donation to Luxembourg and their development ever since.8

In contrast, the prints in the MNHA’s collections have so far received little attention. This is all the more surprising since they represent arguably the most important holding of photographs by Edward Steichen in Luxembourg and beyond.9

Changing this situation is one of the main concerns of the present inventory catalog. The focus of our contribution will initially be on the history of the donation itself, which has not been addressed by research to date. Indeed, the circumstances surrounding the dona tion appear to be relevant from today’s perspective not only in terms of the direct history of the collection, but also in terms of cultural history, since they shed light on the cultural context in which Edward Steichen’s photographs arrived in Luxembourg in the 1980s. Finally, we will brie y analyze the history of the collection’s impact in and outside the museum.

DANA STEICHEN mid 1920s1

This early portrait of Edward Steichen’s second wife shows her looking pen sive. The background and her dress are monochrome—nothing in this pic ture distracts from her face.

For more information on Dana Steichen, see Cat. 21.

Date (print) probably 1930s Technique palladium print (mounted on cardboard)2 Location unknown Dimensions 25.1 x 20.3 cm MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/021-a IMPST no. 2048

Inscriptions (back) 1985-30/21 a GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2048 2048

1 Dana looks slightly older than in Cat. 22.

Identi ed through elemental analysis.

LINDA MARTIN

19401

This is the only color photograph of Edward Steichen’s granddaughter Linda in the collection of the MNHA.

Linda is twelve years old, standing in a corn eld with a corn plant in her hands. Like Cat. 30, this is not a snapshot: Steichen carefully staged the composition and chose to produce a color photograph, with the dark blue sky creating an astounding background for the girl, wearing green and red, and the plant she is holding in her hand.

For more information on Linda Martin, see Cat. 29.

Date (print) 1940s

Technique dye imbibition transfer print

Location unknown

Dimensions 25.3 x 20.2 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/017-c

IMPST no. 2037

Inscriptions (front) B [orange] M [green] Y [blue]

SAFETY KODAK 08 [mirrored]

Inscriptions (back) 16 1985-30/17 c

GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES

DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2037

double ampli ed print # 2 Defender B+ [?] 5/23/40 2037

1 Dated on the back.

MRS. CONDÉ NAST (JEANNE CLARISSE NAST)

For more information on Mrs. Condé Nast (Jeanne Clarisse Nast), see Cat. 53.

Date (print) after 1953

Technique gelatin silver print (mounted on cardboard) Location Paris, France

Dimensions 35 x 27.4 x 0.2 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/080 IMPST no. 2295

Published Edward Steichen, A Life in Photography, 1963, pl. 58.

Inscriptions (front) STEICHEN / PARIS / MDCCCCVII

Inscriptions (back) 35 [encircled; black ink] 1985-30/80

GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2295 63,73 moma has print of 2295

1 Steichen 1963, pl. 58.

ROSA COVARRUBIAS IN FRONT OF BRANCUSI’S ENDLESS COLUMN IN THE GARDEN IN VOULANGIS

Rosa Rolanda Covarrubias (1895–1970) was born Rosemonde Cowan Ruelas in California to an American father and a Mexican mother. In 1916, she began her career as a dancer in New York and was soon traveling with the dance company The Ziegfeld Follies, performing in big cities in the United States and Europe. In 1923, the dance company was in Paris and Rosa met Man Ray (1890–1976), who famously photographed her in a Flamenco dress. It was either Man Ray or Rosa’s husband, Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias (1904–1957), who introduced her to photograms, a cameraless photographic tech nique. Objects are placed on photosensitive paper on which, when exposed to direct sunlight, the images develop. Rosa began working as photogram art ist and photographer in 1926 and created a series of Surrealist self-portraits. Beginning in 1928, she painted portraits, landscapes, and folkloric scenes exploring her Mexican heritage. Traditional Mexican motives, techniques, and symbols can be found in her Surrealist photographs and paintings. She lived in Mexico with her husband, was friends with Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), Diego Rivera (1886–1957), and other Mexican artists. Photographer Edward Weston portrayed her wearing traditional Mexican and Mayan dresses.2 Edward Steichen’s photograph of Rosa Covarrubias in his garden in Voulangis was likely taken while Rosa was dancing in Paris in the early 1920s. Constantin Brancusi’s (1876–1957) Endless Column in the background was installed in Steichen’s garden in 1922.3

Date (print) unknown

Technique gelatin silver print

Location Voulangis, France

Dimensions 25.3 x 20.2 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/039

IMPST no. 2126

Inscriptions (back) 7/8 Rose Covarrubias 1985-30/39

GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2126 2126

1

Most likely taken on the same day as Brancusi (c. 1922), in Steichen 1963, pl. 176. See also Cat. 68 and Cat. 69.

2 LACMA 2012, p. 4.

3 Hurm 2019, pp. 80–81.

MARY PICKFORD

1927–281

Canadian-born actress Mary Pickford (1893–1979), born Gladys Mary Smith, had her rst acting roles as a child in Canadian lms and on the stage in Toronto. At the age of eight, she went on tour with a theater company and made her Broadway debut when she was 18 years old. From 1913, she focused on acting in motion pictures. With her blond, curly hair and childlike face, she was mostly cast to play the sweet, innocent girl, and thus established herself as “America’s Sweetheart.” Besides from being sweet, Mary Pickford also was a very shrewd businesswoman. She established her own produc tion company in 1914 and two years later signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, which granted her full control over the production of the lms she starred in agreed to pay her 10,000 dollars a week plus half of each lm’s pro ts. When that contract expired after two years and was not renewed (she was o ered 250,000 dollars to leave the lm business instead), Pickford took the lead in organizing the United Artists Corporation with fellow actors D. W. Gri th, Charlie Chaplin, and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. Having been a silent lm star for almost two decades, Mary Pickford made her rst talking lm, Coquette, in 1929 and won an Academy Award for it. After her 194th lm, Secrets (1933), she retired from acting and dedicated her life to her production business and to charity activities. In 1955, Pickford published her autobiography Sunshine and Shadow and spent the last years of her life secluded on her estate in Santa Monica.2 Edward Steichen remembers that at the time he took this picture of Mary Pickford for Vanity Fair, she was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and one of the richest women in the United States: “Mary Pickford, in being pho tographed, insisted that there be a oor light in front of her, shooting up into her face. I assume she liked to have the re ection of sparkling lights in her eyes. But the oor light was a very trying handicap for me, and when I dutifully put it on the oor as she requested, I placed a piece of deep-red stage gelatin over it. Since I was using ordinary color-blind plates instead of panchromatic, the gelatin produced the equivalent of no light at all. But Miss Pickford was satis ed, and so was I. Later, after I had shown her the pictures, I explained my deception. She was greatly pleased. She told me she had thought the red light would give some special e ect, and had been planning to tell the cameraman to use it in her next lm.”3

The caption under the portrait in Vanity Fair reads: “Mary Pickford Grown Up – The Film Favourite Has Finally Staged a Successful Rebellion Against Little Girl Roles.” Considering that, at the time, Pickford had been producing all of her own lms for more than a decade, it is quite remarkable that her public image apparently was still that of the sweetheart with blond curls.4

Date (print) after 1953 Technique gelatin silver print Location Hollywood, Los Angeles (California), United States Dimensions 43 x 35.4 cm MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/088 IMPST no. 2312

Published Vanity Fair, September 1928, p. 77.

Inscriptions (back) Mary Pickford 1985-30/88 GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2312 2312

1 Steichen 1963, pl. 129; Vanity Fair, September 1928, p. 77.

2 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Pickford [retrieved October 18, 2016].

3 Steichen 1963, chap. 8.

4 Vanity Fair, September 1928, p. 77.

LORETTA YOUNG

Loretta Young (1913–2000), née Gretchen Michaela Young, was an American actress of Luxembourg descent.2 She made her acting debut at the age of four in a silent lm. After growing up, she quickly became a leading lady, often playing wholesome and virtuous women. Young appeared in theatrical lms until 1953, winning an Academy Award in 1947 for The Farmer’s Daughter and earning another nomination in 1949. She then shifted to the relatively new medium of television. Through the 1950s and 1960s she had her own anthology series called Letter to Loretta, which was later changed to The Loretta Young Show. Besides three marriages, Loretta Young had several af fairs with her co-stars, such as Spencer Tracy. Her a air with married actor Clark Gable in 1935 resulted in a daughter, whom Young gave birth to in se cret. The child was in an orphanage for several weeks until Loretta adopted her. She had planned this with her mother and sisters in order to hide the pregnancy and protect herself and the child’s father. Loretta Young retired in the 1960s and dedicated her life to charity work. She died in August 2000.3 Edward Steichen photographed Loretta Young for the October 1932 issue of Vanity Fair. She is portrayed as a “Young star.” The caption mentions her sis ters, both actresses as well, Polly Ann Young and Sally Blane, “who share with her the u y look of round-eyed kittens.” Also mentioned is her latest lm Life Begins (1932), with which she “has just aroused some genial clamour.”4 In the lm, set in the maternity ward of a hospital, Young plays a murderer who is transferred from prison to the hospital to give birth to her child.5

Date (print) probably 1930s

Technique gelatin silver print

Location Hollywood, Los Angeles (California), United States

Dimensions 25.3 x 20.3 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/109

IMPST no. 2398

Published Vanity Fair, October 1932, p. 51.

Inscriptions (front) LORETTA YOUNG Hollywood AUG 21.1931 1120-3

EASTMAN – SAFETY – KODAK 45 [mirrored]

Inscriptions (back) 1985-30/109 GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2398 3420 2398

1

Dated on the front.

2 https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imlu/luxem.html [retrieved February 16, 2022].

3 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Loretta-Young [retrieved September 2, 2021].

4 Vanity Fair, October 1932, p. 51.

5 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023139/ [retrieved October 2, 2021].

IMPROVISATION

AWAKE AND SING!

JOHN GARFIELD, MORRIS CARNOVSKY, AND LUTHER ADLER

Awake and Sing! is a play by Cli ord Odets that premiered in 1935. It is set in the Bronx and deals with the con ict between parents and children in a lower middle class Jewish family, and with the contrast between materialistic ideas and the importance of money in society. The play was performed from February through July 1935, with additional performances in September.2 The actors in Steichen’s photograph play (from left to right) the 21-year-old son searching for meaning in his life, his Marxist grandfather, and a friend of the family who is a cynical war veteran.3

John Gar eld (1913–1952), born Jacob Julius Gar nkle, here as son Ralph Berger, was a stage actor in New York and became a lm star when he moved to Hollywood. He was nominated for an Academy Award twice. His career ended when he refused to denounce fellow actors as communists before the House Committee of Un-American Activities. He died from a heart attack at the age of 39.4 Morris Carnovsky (1897–1992), who played Marxist grandfather Jacob, started acting on Broadway in 1922 and had a thriving career, both on stage and in lm, until he was accused of being a member of the Communist Party and was thus blacklisted. He quit acting in lms for more than a decade, and became a proli c Shakespeare actor in the 1950s. He retired when he was in his eighties and died in 1992, almost 95 years old.5 Luther Adler (1903–1984), was a stage, lm, and television actor, and from the 1940s also directed plays on Broadway. With a group of actors and writers, including John Gar eld, in 1931 he established an independent the ater collective, the Group Theatre.6 Awake and Sing! was one of their many successful productions.7

For Steichen’s camera, the three actors improvised a scene depicting each of their characters’ most conspicuous traits.

Date (print) after 1953 Technique gelatin silver print Location New York City (New York), United States Dimensions 35.3 x 27.8 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/123

IMPST no. 2426

Published Vanity Fair, June 1935, p. 24.

Inscriptions (back) 1985-30/123 GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2426

Awake + Sing – V.F. June 1935 2426

1 Vanity Fair, June 1935, pp. 24–25.

2 https://www.playbill.com/production/awake-and-sing-belasco-thea tre-vault-0000013286 [retrieved September 3, 2021].

3 Vanity Fair, June 1935, p. 25.

4 https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Gar eld [retrieved September 3, 2021].

5 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Morris-Carnovsky [retrieved September 3, 2021].

6 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0012204/bio [retrieved September 3, 2021].

7 Vanity Fair, June 1935, p. 25.

THE SHADBLOW TREE

1950s1

For more information on the series, see Cat. 157.

Date (print) after 1950s–1960s

Technique chromogenic color print Location Umpawaug (Connecticut), United States Dimensions 25.5 x 20.2 cm

MNHA inv. no. 1985-030/146-e IMPST no. 2496

Inscriptions (back) 1985-30/146 e GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG – MUSÉES DE L’ÉTAT [stamp, blue ink] 2496 2496

1 Steichen 1963, pls. 238–41, 243–48.

Sala,

Olivari, press@silvanaeditoriale.it

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2022 Silvana Editoriale S.p.A., Cinisello Balsamo, Milano

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Photographic Credits

Fig. 1 on p. 12: Théo Mey, 19520411, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 2 on p. 12: Théo Mey, 19630746, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 3 on p. 13: Archives of the National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, LU-MNHA DA-1964-045--006,

© National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg

Fig. 4 on p. 14: Marcel Schroeder, 11147, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 5 on p. 14: Marcel Schroeder, 11160, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 6 on p. 15: Archives of the National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, LU-MNHA-DA-1985-030--004,

© National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg

Fig. 7 on p. 16: Archives of the National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, LU-MNHA-DA-1985-030--003,

© National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg

Fig. 8 on p. 17: Jochen Herling, 1966, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 9 on p. 17: Jochen Herling, 1981, © Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Fig. 10 on p. 18: Archives of the National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, LU-MNHA-DA-1985-030--013,

© National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg

Fig. 1 on p. 28: [Steichen]

Fig. 2 on p. 29: [Steichen]

Fig. 3 on p. 29: [Steichen]

Fig. 4 on p. 30: [Steichen]

Fig. 5 on p. 30: [Steichen]

Fig. 6 on p. 33: [Steichen]

Fig. 7 on p. 33: © Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 8 on p. 33: © Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 9 on p. 34: [Steichen]

Fig. 10 on p. 34: [Steichen]

Fig. 11 on p. 34: © Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 12 on p. 34: © Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 13 on p. 35: [Steichen]

Fig. 14 on p. 35: [Steichen]

Fig. 15 on p. 36: XXX | Photo: Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 16 on p. 36: XXX | Photo: Kerstin Bartels

Fig. 1 on p. 45: [MoMA]

Fig. 2 on p. 45: [MoMA]

Fig. 3 on p. 45: [MoMA]

Fig. 1 on p. 50: [Steichen] Fig. 2 on p. 50: [Steichen]

Fig. 3 on p. 51: [Steichen]

Fig. 4: on p. 52 [Steichen]

Fig. 5 on p. 52: [Steichen]

Fig. 6 on p. 52: [Steichen]

Fig. 1 on p. 69: © Musée national d’histoire et d’art Luxembourg | Photo: Tom Lucas

Fig. 2 on p. 69: © Centre national de l’audiovisuel |

Photo: Romain Girtgen

Fig. 3 on p. 69: © Centre national de l’audiovisuel |

Photo: Romain Girtgen

Fig. 4 on p. 70: [Steichen]

Fig. 5 on p. 72: [Steichen]

Fig. 6 on p. 72: [Steichen]

Fig. 7 on p. 73: [Steichen]

Fig. 8 on p. 74: [Steichen]

Fig. 9 on p. 75: [Steichen]

Fig. 10 on p. 75: [Steichen]

Fig. 11 on p. 76: [Steichen]

Fig. 12 on p. 76: [Steichen]

Cat. 1–175: [Steichen]

Cat. 176: [Lange]

Cat. 177–178: [Miller]