
Collection Online as of February 6, 2023
(American, 1897–1994)
Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped
Image: 25.4 x 20.6 cm (10 x 8 1/8 in.); Paper: 25.4 x 20.6 cm (10 x 8 1/8 in.)
Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2016.471
not on view
Operating studios in Manhattan and Scarsdale, New York, Costain specialized in advertising, architectural, and narrative photography. Like Paul Outerbridge and Ralph Steiner, he applied the modernist aesthetic to promoting American products and industries, with the goal of merging fine art and commercial photography. As did many photographers of his generation, he began by studying painting and drawing, evident in his carefully wrought compositions.