Alfred Stieglitz 1933

Dorothy Norman made this photograph of Alfred Stieglitz, probably in her studio, using a large format camera. You can feel the moment that Norman captured Stieglitz. There he is, looking right at you, with those eyes, behind round spectacles. She knew him, she was intimate with him, and yet she holds a respectful distance in the composition. It’s so direct, but not rude, it’s gentle. I wonder if she told him to look right at her, or if that just happened? What was she thinking as she took the shot? What did he say? The tonality is beautiful, and the values read so clearly from dark to light. It looks like she used natural light – just looking at it you can tell she was a sensitive artist.