Paul Strand

(AMERICAN, 1864 - 1976)

One of the most important and influential photographers of the twentieth century, Paul Strand pushed the medium of photography into artistic terrain considered too difficult to describe with a camera. His undeniable success brought photography to its maturity. For concentrated power, formal coherence, and human sensitivity, Stand’s photographs are unsurpassed. In his early years, influenced by Cubism, he broke through the Pictorialist aesthetic through focusing upon purity of form and composition, evident in all of his work. Finding subject matter across the US, from New York City to the Southwest, as well as through Europe, Strand's dedication to straight photography makes him a critical figure in the history of photography.