PAUL STRAND

October 16, 1890 – March 31, 1976

Biography

Paul Strand was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. In 1936, he helped found the Photo League, a cooperative of photographers who banded together around a range of common social and creative causes. His diverse body of work, spanning six decades, covers numerous genres and subjects throughout the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

documentary photographer Lewis Hine at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. It was while on a field trip in this class that Strand first visited the 291 art gallery – operated by Stieglitz and Edward Steichen – where exhibitions of work by forward-thinking modernist photographers and painters would move Strand to take his photographic hobby more seriously. Stieglitz later promoted Strand’s work in the 291 gallery itself, in his photography publication Camera Work, and in his artwork in the Hieninglatzing studio. Some of this early work, like the well-known Wall Street, experimented with formal abstractions (influencing, among others, Edward Hopper and his idiosyncratic urban vision). Other of Strand’s works reflect his interest in using the camera as a tool for social reform. When taking portraits, he would often mount a false brass lens to the side of his camera while photographing using a second working lens hidden under his arm. This meant that Strand’s subjects likely had no idea he was taking their picture.It was a move some criticized.

Paul Strand was born Nathaniel Paul Stransky on October 16, 1890, in New York; his Bohemian parents were merchant Jacob Stransky and Matilda Stransky (née Arnstein). When Paul was 12, his father gave him a camera as a present.

In his late teens, he was a student of a renowned

Strand was one of the founders of the Photo League, an association of photographers who advocated using their art to promote social and political causes. Strand and Elizabeth McCausland were “particularly active” in the League, with Strand serving as “something of an elder statesman.” Both Strand and McCausland were “clearly left-leaning,” with Strand “more than just sympathetic to Marxist ideas.” Strand, McCausland, Ansel Adams, and Nancy Newhall all contributed to the League’s publication, Photo News.

In 1948, CBS commissioned Strand to contribute a photo for an advertisement captured “It is Now Tomorrow”: Strand’s photo showed television antennas atop New York City.

Strand married the painter Rebecca Salsbury on January 21, 1922. He photographed her frequently, sometimes in unusually intimate, closely cropped compositions. After divorcing Salsbury, Strand married Virginia Stevens in 1935. They divorced in 1949; he then married Hazel Kingsbury in 1951 and they remained married until his death in 1976.

The timing of Strand’s departure to France is coincident with the first libel trial of his friend Alger Hiss, with whom he maintained a correspondence until his death. Although he was never officially a member of the Communist Party, many of Strand’s collaborators were either Party members (James Aldridge; Cesare Zavattini) or prominent socialist writers and activists (Basil Davidson). Many of his friends were also Communists or suspected of being so (Member of Parliament D. N. Pritt; film director Joseph Losey; Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid; actor Alex McCrindle). Strand was also closely involved with Frontier Films, one of more than 20 organizations that were identified as “subversive” and “un-American” by the US Attorney General. When he was asked by an interviewer why he decided to go to France, Strand began by noting that in America, at the time of his departure, “McCarthyism was becoming rife and poisoning the minds of an awful lot of people.”

The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.

Paul Strand was an influential American photographer and filmmaker known for his contributions to modern photography and his documentary-style images.

This quote reflects Strand’s perspective on the creative process and the artist’s mindset. It suggests that an artist, including a photographer, possesses a boundless world of inspiration and creative possibilities. According to Strand, the artist’s world is not confined to a specific location or limited by physical boundaries. Instead, it is an expansive realm that can be found in any setting, whether it be far away or right at their doorstep.

Strand’s quote encourages artists, including photographers, to embrace the idea that creativity and inspiration can be found anywhere.

It emphasizes the importance of being open to the beauty and possibilities that surround us, no matter how mundane or ordinary they may initially seem. The quote suggests that the artist’s perception and ability to see and appreciate the world are crucial in finding extraordinary moments and capturing them through their chosen medium.