Ellen Koeniger, Lake George 1916

Curator: Here we have Alfred Stieglitz's 1916 photograph, "Ellen Koeniger, Lake George," a gelatin-silver print. Editor: Gosh, the first thing that hits me is the joy radiating from this swimmer’s face. She's absolutely glowing with pleasure, immersed in that inky water, practically daring the viewer to join in. There's something beautifully candid about it, like capturing a pure, fleeting moment. Curator: Precisely. Stieglitz photographed Koeniger at his family estate on Lake George. The setting provided him not just with landscape subjects but also opportunities to experiment with portraiture, specifically within a natural, more relaxed setting than a studio. It moves away from strictly posed studio portraits, something pictorialists before him were moving towards. Editor: And what do you make of that direct gaze? There is no artifice here, no coyness. Her confidence is rather intoxicating, as it rejects so many female portrayals we find from that era. The image doesn’t attempt to beautify in a conventional sense but seems to relish the realness. Curator: Yes, her unidealized depiction, even tinged with daring sensuality, goes against the prevailing photographic standards. But Stieglitz wasn’t shy to confront the norms of his time. In the context of the growing modernist movement, one can also read this photograph as a quest to capture authentic emotion. He treated photography as a form of direct expression. Editor: It's interesting to think about how her pleasure subverts traditional power dynamics too. It seems Koeniger revels in her environment and exudes this unapologetic energy which turns any male gaze into a rather silly projection. It also defies categorization neatly, floating between genres of portrait and perhaps a more modern expression of still life, too? Curator: A very astute point. By including "Lake George" in the title, he inextricably links her to the environment. And, importantly, by titling it after her given name, “Ellen Koeniger,” he recognizes her individuality, stepping away from a generalized type. Editor: I keep circling back to the lighting and how it reflects from the dark water up towards Ellen. It's subtle and quite dreamlike; she almost merges with her aquatic surroundings. Seeing that one can't help but imagine one is there, treading in the depths alongside her... Curator: Exactly, and I feel that in capturing this spirit, he has successfully bridged art and life in that singular, beautiful moment. Editor: What a treat of a photo. So many currents rippling beneath that seemingly still surface.