Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864–1946), Georgia O'Keeffe–Hands, 1917. Platinum print, 9 7/8 × 7 7/8 in. (25.07 × 20 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Earl A. and Catherine V. Krueger, Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, and Friends of Art. M1997.50.
Stieglitz made hundreds of photographs of his wife, Georgia O’Keeffe, between 1917 and 1925: traditional portraits as well as those that focused on parts of her body, especially her expressive, graceful hands. Taken together, this enormous body of work forms a “composite portrait” of the painter. Often considered to be “the father of American photography,” Alfred Stieglitz dedicated his career to establishing photography’s place among the fine arts and, in the 1920s and 1930s, frequently worked in extended series, looking at a single subject in depth and over time.
