On Saturday I went to see an interesting show at the Michener Art Museum, here in Doylestown, Bridging Two American Muralists: Daniel Garber & Edward Steichen(Note to self – I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful treasure of a museum in a small town and within walking distance of my home!).  Steichen was one of the Twentieth Century’s photography giants. But his first love was painting, which led him to move to Paris as a young man in 1900. It was after he returned to the United States that he took up photography with a vengeance and the rest as they say is history.

To be honest, I wasn’t aware that Steichen started off as a painter.  I know this now as a result of seeing this small but fantastic show that focuses on his mural work and that of the great Bucks County artist Daniel Garber. Garber has one of the most incredible senses of light I have ever seen and I have often taken my students to the museum to see many of his wonderful paintings that are in its permanent collection. Why? Because as photographers we can learn a lot about light and composition from studying the great painters!  But you need to actually go to see the paintings. You just cannot get the full appreciation of the great’s sense of light unless you are standing in front of their work. So do go to art galleries and museums whenever the opportunity presents itself!

Back to Steichen. Like many photographers of his time he started off by making somewhat blurry photographs to approximate impressionist paintings. Thankfully this trend quickly passed!  The seven paintings on display are anything but blurry. The murals are very large and incredibly colorful. The canvases measure 120 inches in height. Two are 96 inches wide and the other five are 55 inches. All include larger than life portraits of other painters, their children or Steichen’s patrons. Each canvas also includes flora associated with specific human traits or desires and served as the basis and inspiration for the composition.

Looking at the paintings it is easy to see how they informed Steichen’s latter straight photography, most notably his formal portrait work, and it was a real treat to learn and experience something about this great photographer I wasn’t aware of before. Steichen was a true multi-talented artist who could paint as well as he could photograph. It’s a shame that he gave up his painting and destroyed all his remaining canvases. Fortunately you can experience some of his rarely seen paintings, but only if you move quickly. The show ends on April 15^th.  So if you are near Bucks County, it is definitely worth a visit to the Michener to see this wonderful exhibit by two truly gifted artists.