Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was a monumental figure in the history of twentieth century photography. In the opening decades of the century, Stieglitz championed the cause of artistic photography with the Photo-Secession group, and went on to become an important and influential modernist photographer.

From 1903 to 1917 Stieglitz was the editor of Camera Work, a journal committed to promoting the merits of photography and avant-garde art. During this period he also opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession at 291 Fifth Avenue, New York. Established in 1908, the gallery, which became known simply as 291, was initially a venue showing the work of photographers committed to the ideal of photography as a medium for artistic expression.

This exhibition, drawn from the NGV collection, brings together around 40 works by a number of the photographers who exhibited at 291 and includes the work of photographers Alfred Stiegitz, Edward Steichen, Gertrude Käsebier, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Adolphe De Meyer, Paul Haviland and Paul Strand.

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