Immigrants in Art: Edward Steichen

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1816

     Edward Steichen was important in the history of photography. With his friend Alfred Stieglitz, he was instrumental in introducing Americans to modern photographers in the early 20^th century.

     Steichen was born in the small country of Luxembourg in 1879. When he was three years old he moved with his parents to America. He became interested in photography at the age of sixteen, and was one of the first photographers experimenting with color photography in 1904. At that time he was interested in photography as art.

 

http://mastersofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/02/edward-steichen.html

     

     During WWI Edward Steichen was commander of an aerial photography squad. He was shocked by what he saw during the war, and decided he would no longer pursue photography as an art form. He felt that photography should be used realistically to show what was going on. He wrote, “I am no longer concerned with photography as an art form. I believe it is potentially the best medium for explaining man to himself and his fellow man.”

Gretta Garbo:  http://www.artnet.com/artwork/426145398/117084/edward-steichen-greta-garbo.html

     Steichen then began photographing commercially. He became well known as a fashion photographer (photographs clothing for sales), and also made many portraits of important authors, film stars and others. He worked with Alfred Stieglitz to start the magazine Camera Work and open their Manhattan gallery, Gallery 291.

Gloria Swanson:  http://mastersofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/02/edward-steichen.html     

     After working with Naval photographers in WWII, Steichen became the Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He organized several well-known photography exhibitions, but his most famous was The Family of Man (1955). This exhibition showcased several important photographers of the time, including Steichen himself. It was shown in several cities in the United States and in thirty-seven different countries.

Click here if you would you like to see more of Edward Steichen’s photographs.

Sources of information:

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1816

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAPsteichen.htm

http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Edward-Steichen.html

National Peanut Month

     March is National Peanut Month in the United States.  Peanuts and peanut butter are healthy to eat. They are believed to have more protein than any other nut.

     Peanuts were first grown in South America. Spanish explorers introduced them to Europe, and traders later spread them to Asia and Africa.

     Peanuts were grown in the United States as early as 1800. Because they were difficult to grow and harvest, there were not very many peanut famers at this time.

     Peanuts were a common food given to soldiers during the Civil War. After the war peanuts were roasted and sold by street vendors, and at games and circuses. However, because they were still difficult to grow and harvest, peanuts were still seen as livestock food and food for the poor.

     Better equipment was invented by 1900, making growing and harvesting peanuts much easier. Peanuts became more widely grown and sold. It was around this time that peanut butter was invented. It was introduced to the US markets at the 1904 Universal Expedition (a kind of fair), held in St. Louis.

     Peanuts and peanut butter are popular in the United States today. According to the National Peanut Board (NPB) Americans eat over 600 million pounds of peanuts each year. But we seem to like peanut butter a little better; the NPB reports we eat over 700 pounds of peanut butter each year.

     Do you like peanuts or peanut butter? Do you believe peanuts are a healthy food?

Sources:

http://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/classroom-history.php

http://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/classroom-funfacts.php