William Zorach 1916

Alfred Stieglitz captured this intimate portrait of the artist William Zorach using gelatin silver print. Stieglitz, through his lens, wasn’t just documenting a fellow artist, but also the spirit of a generation grappling with modernity. Looking at the image, it is difficult to ignore the male gaze inherent to Stieglitz's work. He seeks to capture Zorach's essence in a way that reinforces certain notions of masculinity and artistic genius. Yet, within this framework, there is a quiet, almost vulnerable quality to Zorach’s expression that hints at a deeper complexity. As artists in the early 20th century, both Stieglitz and Zorach navigated a rapidly changing art world. Stieglitz promoted photography as a fine art, challenging traditional hierarchies. Zorach, meanwhile, explored modernism through painting and sculpture. In its layered, nuanced tones, this photograph leaves you to consider the dynamics of power, representation, and the search for identity.