1864 - 1946
1931
Gelatin silver print
7 7/16 x 9 3/8 in. (18.9 x 23.8 cm)
Framed: 16 3/4 x 20 3/4 x 1 1/8 in. (42.5 x 52.7 x 2.9 cm)
The beginning of the twentieth century in New York City was a rapidly growing machine age of steel skyscrapers rising above the traditional face of the city. For Stieglitz, New York City was as much a tantalizing and ever- changing muse as any of his favorite recurring subjects.
By the 1930s, Stieglitz abandoned his street-level approach, seen in The Terminal or The Street—Design for a Poster, and took an aerial perspective. He used the nearly panoramic window views from his final gallery, An American Place, and from his apartment in the Shelton Hotel. He photographed the scenes repeatedly and through all seasons. The result is a Modernist collection of views that contemplates changes in light and shadow, lines, and shapes.