Had Alfred Stieglitz never taken a photograph in his life, he would still be numbered among the most significant influences in American cultural life in the period before the World War II. As editor of the now legendary magazine Camera Work, as proselytizer for the art of photography, and as director of the 291 gallery and, later, The Intimate Gallery and An American Place, Stieglitz was among the first to introduce the art of the European and American avant-garde to the American public while simultaneously championing, publishing, and exhibiting much of the best photography of the period. Nevertheless, it is Stiegls body of photographic work which has firmly established his place among 20th c. artists. His own work evolved progressively toward "pure". photography, a direction confirmed by his recognition of Paul Strand, whose photographs comprised the last two issues of Camera Work. Writing in 1922, Stieglitz stated: "My aim is increasingly to make my photographs took so much like photographs [i.e., rather than paintings, etchings, etc.] that unless one has eyes and sees, they won't be seen - and still everyone will never forget having once looked at them."' height= Alfred Stieglitz: The Terminal, New York 1892
Alfred Stieglitz: The Terminal, New York 1892