Lake George 1935

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Lake George, sometime in the first half of the 20th century. Just look at the way the house is partially obscured by the lushness of the trees. I love how the textures and tones play off each other. The way the siding on the house catches the light is beautiful. The eye is drawn from the geometry of the building into the organic forms of the landscape. The billowing clouds form a kind of soft backdrop to the scene. They look almost solid. I wonder what it was like to stand in that field, looking up at the house. Stieglitz’s image reminds me of the work of painters like Edward Hopper who were also drawn to the vernacular architecture of rural America. Like them, he seemed to be searching for something in the everyday. It's like he wanted to show us that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places, if we just take the time to look.