The Flatiron
Steichen added color to the platinum photograph that forms the foundation of this print using layers of pigment suspended in a light-sensitive solution of gum arabic and potassium bichromate. Together with two variant prints in other colors, also in the Museum's collection, The Flatiron is the quintessential study of twilight. Clearly indebted in its composition to the Japanese woodcuts that were in vogue at the turn of the century and in its coloristic effects, to the Nocturnes of Whistler, this picture is a prime example of the conscious effort of photographers in the circle of Alfred Stieglitz to assert the artistic potential of their medium.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Flatiron
- Artist: Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
- Date: 1904, printed 1905
- Medium: Gum bichromate over platinum print
- Dimensions: 49.9 × 38.9 cm (19 5/8 × 15 5/16 in.)
Frame: 34 5/8 × 29 5/8 in. (87.9 × 75.2 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1933
- Object Number: 33.43.44
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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