Label Text:
Artists began to explore the metaphoric and interpretative powers of photography in the late 19th century. Founded in New York City by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, the Photo-Secessionist movement promoted the camera as a creative tool rather than an instrument for recording facts. A group of eight photographers based in Buffalo were known briefly throughout the photographic world for their contributions to this movement, which included mostly soft-focus dream-like landscapes, often manipulated during development in the darkroom. Led by Wilbur H. Porterfield (the likely, but unconfirmed photographer of this work), the Photo-Pictorialists took cues from contemporary painting. They favored atmosphere and mood as their subjects and created harmonious, balanced compositions.

-Hannah Blunt, Associate Curator, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Sept. 2016)

Tags:
water; trees; landscapes; reflection

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2015.28.21

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.