Lake George 1922 - 1924

Curator: Ah, a Stieglitz! This gelatin silver print, taken sometime between 1922 and 1924, captures a view of Lake George. It’s classic Stieglitz, moving away from purely pictorial concerns to a sharper, more modern vision of American landscape. Editor: Mmm, it’s funny, looking at it, my first thought isn't “modern," but almost ghostly. That soft, gray scale, and the way everything seems… veiled. Like a memory struggling to surface. Curator: That veiled quality you’re picking up on comes from Stieglitz’s long engagement with Pictorialism, which prized atmospheric effects over sharp focus. However, with Lake George, we see his turn toward the straight photography. A kind of visual truth-telling through the lens. Less dreamy romanticism, more honest record. Editor: I see that, but it still feels…layered. You have the solid, almost geometric shape of the house nestled among those soft, indistinct trees. And beyond that, the hazy hills. It’s as if he's trapping these layers in light, isn't it? Almost sculpting silence. It's definitely doing something to me! Curator: Absolutely. Stieglitz used the camera to capture a feeling, not just a place. Lake George, in particular, was deeply significant for him. He spent a lot of time there with his wife, Georgia O'Keeffe, and his work at this time reflected his attempts to capture this connection with the land, while negotiating modernity. Editor: It’s interesting how a landscape can become almost a portrait, isn’t it? A portrait of a place, but also of the person looking at it. You see what he’s going through! Those grays have stories... the way a poet sees meaning, you see truth, and I find ghosts! Curator: Very true. It became a space for him to wrestle with new aesthetics but also to create something timeless, speaking about our relationship with the environment. It does invite this quiet, reflective contemplation. Editor: Definitely! Every time I revisit it, I find different layers. The more I explore the grayscale, the richer it gets! Curator: Stieglitz certainly captured something here.