The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2024

Always Camels

Always Camels

1922, printed 1980
(American, 1899–1986)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 9.5 x 12.1 cm (3 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.); Paper: 10.1 x 12.6 cm (4 x 4 15/16 in.); Matted: 30.6 x 35.6 cm (12 1/16 x 14 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1991.242
© Estate of Ralph Steiner
Location: not on view

Description

Born and raised in Cleveland to a working-class family, Ralph Steiner earned a degree in chemical engineering from Dartmouth College but, after graduation, opted to become a freelance photographer in New York City. In the early 1920s, the boom period in America for the incorporation of photography in print advertising, Steiner’s major source of income was producing ad layouts for magazines. Those jobs supported his personal artwork, which included photographing the urban environment. His cityscapes often featured signage, which dominated commercial districts throughout the city and mirrored the rise of consumerism in the prosperous 1920s.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 329
  • A New York Minute: Street Photography, 1920-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-November 7, 2021).
    Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/24/07 - 9/16/07); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.
  • {{cite web|title=Always Camels|url=false|author=Ralph Steiner|year=1922, printed 1980|access-date=14 December 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.242