Jennie (?)
1920
Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 11 × 9 cm (4 5/16 × 3 9/16 in.) sheet: 12 × 9.6 cm (4 3/4 × 3 3/4 in.) mount: 34.4 × 26.7 cm (13 9/16 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Accession Number
1949.3.452
Art Historical Context
Alfred Stieglitz’s 1920 gelatin silver print *Jennie (?)* captures the quiet intimacy of early twentieth-century portraiture. Measuring just 11 by 9 centimeters, the small image is mounted on a much larger sheet, a presentation choice that draws attention to the photograph as a precious, hand-crafted object. The question mark in the title hints at the sitter’s uncertain identity, inviting viewers to focus on the mood and presence rather than biographical detail. By 1920 Stieglitz had moved away from the soft-focus effects of Pictorialism toward a sharper, more direct approach that celebrated ...
About the Artist
Alfred Stieglitz · 1864–1946
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was a pioneering American photographer, art dealer, publisher, and advocate for the Modernist movement who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to German Jewish immigrant parents, Stieglitz spent his formative years studying mechanical engineering in Berlin, where he discovered photography in ...