Edward Steichen : the Royal Photographic Society Collection ; [exhibition held in April 1993 at the Istituto di Cultura Santa Maria delle Grazie, Mestre

The photographs in this volume were selected from the collection of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society in Bath, England, home to 80 Steichen photographs. Steichen's relationship with the RPS was turbulent, as the innovative photographer repeatedly challenged the conservative Society. In 1903, Steichen took aim at the formulaic photographs favored by the Society, writing: "Some day there may be invented a machine that needs but to be wound up and sent roaming o'er hill and dale, through fields and meadows, by babbling brooks and shady woods - in short, a machine that will discriminatingly select its subject and by means of a skilful arrangement of springs and screws, compose its motif, expose the plate, develop, print and even mount and frame the result of its excursion, so that there will remain nothing for us to do but to send it to the Royal Photographic Society's exhibition and gratefully receive the Royal Medal." (http://www.artbook.com/8881581051.html) The photographs presented in this book, and in part selected by Steichen himself, date from 1898 to 1935, covering the extraordinary period of "artistic photography" as well as the acclaimed portraits and compositions of the Thirties of one of the leading figures in twentieth-century photography. In the essays published in this book, Paolo Costantini discusses Edward Steichen's first and crucial stay in Europe at the very beginning of the century, when he encountered European art and culture, and began to define his intellectual biography as a modern photographer. Pam Roberts situates the important Steichen section within the context of the rich collection of the Royal Photographic Society and considers the circumstances of his link with it. The book also includes a critical selection of writings by and on Edward Steichen. "First published for the exhibition held in April 1993 at the Istituto di Cultura Santa Maria della Grazie, Mestre"--t.p. verso Includes bibliographical references (p. 85) Mode of access: Internet http://archive.org/details/edwardsteichen00edwa