The Little House, Lake George 1936

This is Alfred Stieglitz’s, The Little House, Lake George. He made it at some point, but we don’t know exactly when, using gelatin silver print on paper. The image is sharply focused and carefully composed, full of quiet, everyday beauty. Looking at the surface, it's fascinating how Stieglitz coaxes so much tonality out of a grayscale palette. Notice the shadow cast across the front of the little house? It reminds me of the way light can define a space and create a sense of depth, like a stage set. There’s a tension here, a balance between the geometric lines of the house and the organic forms of the landscape. Stieglitz, like his pal, the painter Georgia O’Keeffe, was interested in capturing the essence of American places in his work. Both were deeply interested in the relationship between form and content. And like all great art, this photograph invites us to slow down, look closely, and discover new ways of seeing the world around us.