Artwork Page for The Steerage

Details / Information for The Steerage

The Steerage

1907

Alfred Stieglitz

(American, 1864–1946)
Culture
America
Medium
photogravure
Measurements
Image: 32 x 25.7 cm (12 5/8 x 10 1/8 in.); Image with black margin: 33.2 x 26.5 cm (13 1/16 x 10 7/16 in.); Paper: 40 x 27.9 cm (15 3/4 x 11 in.); Mounted: 50.8 x 38 cm (20 x 14 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Diann G. Mann and Thomas A. Mann 2019.22
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

This print is Alfred Stieglitz’s own, lifelong copy of The Steerage, one of his most important works.

Description

With his camera, Stieglitz transformed a scene of impoverished immigrants returning to Europe into a study in shape and form; the image sparked his evolution from a pictorialist into a modernist. Reflecting on his career in 1942, Stieglitz proclaimed this image, taken in 1907, as an achievement of modern art that anticipated Cubism.
A vertically oriented black-and-white photograph crops around two levels of a ship, crowded with people. Railings with three rows of chains flank a platform cutting diagonally across the center of the photograph. At its right end, people gather against a railing, most facing us. Slightly less crowded on the lower level, people sit and walk around, a child standing at the bottom of stairs leading to the upper level in the lower right corner.

The Steerage

1907

Alfred Stieglitz

(American, 1864–1946)
America

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork