First Steichen Exhibition, Main Room—Photo-Secession Gallery 1906

Alfred Stieglitz made this gelatin silver print of the ‘First Steichen Exhibition, Main Room—Photo-Secession Gallery'. It's a dreamy image of an exhibition space, lit by soft, globe-like lights, all in sepia tones. I'm wondering about the process here, what it was like to set up a photography exhibition back then. Stieglitz, I imagine, was interested in creating a mood, not just displaying photos. The framed photographs, the draped fabric, the bulbous lights, and the oversized plant arrangement – they're all part of the composition. The plant is especially intriguing. It feels like a gesture toward life, growth, and maybe even the organic nature of photography itself. Maybe he was thinking about how art spaces can be more than just rooms, but places of contemplation. It's almost as if Stieglitz is composing a scene, as much as he is documenting it. He's inviting us to see photography as an art form with its own unique textures and feelings.