Night—Fifth Avenue c. 1898 - 1932

Alfred Stieglitz captured this gelatin silver print, Night—Fifth Avenue, and its murky blacks and grays, in the dark of night. I imagine Stieglitz wandering in the dark, lugging his camera to capture a slice of NYC. It’s a scene full of soft light and deep shadows, and I think about how different the city must have looked then. Did he see this moment as a painting, or a scene? I bet he stopped here, looked, framed his view, and waited for the right moment. I think that photograph has to do with a search for something real. A search for something that may at first appear as banal, but with time and patience, you can transform it into something else. It's a testament to how different artists, no matter their medium, are constantly in dialogue, and their work invites us to see the world in new and unexpected ways.