Alfred Stieglitz was one of the most important cultural forces in twentieth-century America. As founder of the Photo Secession movement and editor of the influential Camera Work he eschewed the prevailing "artiness" of pictorialist photography, preferring clarity of vision and "crystallized awareness." In galleries such as 291 and An American Place, he showed and championed the work of modern artists from the US and Europe. As a photographer, editor, and gallery director, Stieglitz was a powerful influence on photography and on American art in general.

"Stieglitz's photographs of things and people—of sun and cloud shapes—become equivalents of a deeply critical yet affirmative inquiry into a contemporary life. They are objective and beautiful conclusions of that inquiry." —Paul Strand