Studio: international art (41.1907)

The Photo-Secession in America

and material, and by the use of pergolas or was shown the first of three notable annual salons,

lattice-work, as well as by the judicious use of Finally, with a desire to put forward all that was

dark, formal masses of deep-green shrubs, which best in photographic possibilities, the Photo-Seces-

frame tender greens and give the flowers a jewel- sion was inaugurated on February 17, 1902, the

like quality. real movement toward the organisation having

Professor Billing's garden consists of circular developed in consequence of the three salons

flower beds rising in terraces, which are crowned already mentioned.

with palms and other high-growing plants. He The decisive note, however, was sounded in 1901,

places his flowers in masses of single colours (pale when Mr. Stieglitz, who had been keeping together

yellow next to dark purple tulips when I saw them), the ends that reached from the various centres of

all arranged to bring out effective contrasts. The interest, and whose influence both at home and

garden by Roethe Brothers and Jacob Krug is abroad was more extensive than that of anyone

more luxurious — a marble tea-house, between else, was requested to give an exhibition of his

shady pergolas, covered with pendant clusters of own work at the Arts Club. Instead of making a

wisteria, fountains of bronze and marble, statuary " one-man-show " of the affair, Mr. Stieglitz, keenly

and terraces producing an effect of great elegance. appreciating the welfare of the movement as a

Architect Brahe's design is characteristic of a gar- whole, very generously proposed to hold a com-

den in the period of Rome's greatest splendour. prehensive exhibit of American works. The idea

Schulze-Naumburg has a simple suburban garden was to present the varied character in manner of

enclosed by high walls and espalier fruit trees, the expression of such individual photographers as

centre space being a simple lawn; and Henken ranked high in their art. It was to show that a

has imitated a Japanese garden with great skill and vitality, which was his own, stamped the work of

taste. F. Bentz. each, so that it would lead to the recognition of its

T

HE PHOTO-SECESSION
IN AMERICA. BY
MAUDE I. G. OLIVER.

It is now over nineteen years since the
initial step was taken toward the uplifting
of simple photography in America to the
dignity of photographic art, the year
1886 having marked an epoch in the
history of the movement. Then it was
that the first exhibit aspiring to anything
like international importance was held ;
and, at its close, what became known as
the "New York, Philadelphia and Boston
Joint Exhibition Series " was established.
The institution, which provided for
annual displays to be presented succes-
sively in each of the three centres, con-
tinued with increasingly satisfactory results
until the spring of 1894, when, from the
artistic standpoint, a most encouraging
collection was shown in New York. It
was one which had been able to demon-
strate conclusively the existence of talent
sufficient to withstand the sharp test of a
rigorous jury. For the ensuing four years
no outward sign of activity was evidenced,
although the true life of the work
was gaining in force and, in 1898, culled
from the most rigid system of selection, child study by bmma spencer

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