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For many years critics have realized that Journalism's hard-worked handmaiden, Photography, is a fine art in its own right. Art galleries have exhibited photographers' prints between painting shows. For the first time last week an art gallery opened in New York to make the exhibition and sale of photographs its main object.
First presentation of the Julien Levy Gallery was entitled "A Retrospective Exhibition of American Photography." Actually about half of the show was devoted to the prints of a group of modern photographers, now famed and successful, who more than 25 years ago self-consciously called themselves the Photosecessionists and started the magazine Camera Work under amazing, pugnacious Alfred Stieglitz. Beside Photographer Stieglitz, they were: Edward Steichen (now photogra-pher-in-chief to the Conde Nast publica-tions), Gertrude Kasebier and the late Clarence White. Also included in last week's exhibition were prints by the younger Paul Strand, Charles Sheeler, Ed- ward Weston. The work of these photographers has often been shown, always been praised. Prints on view last week were admirable, priced at from $20 for the work of modest Edward Weston to the $1.000 which didactic Alfred Stieglitz thought his prints were worth. Many critics paused longer in the first part of the exhibition which really at tempted to show the development of photography in the U. S. Here were some stiff and dingy daguerreotypes, some stereopticon pictures from old Bowery peep prints," and shows, in old particular a theatrical few prints by "cabinet a man who could hold his head up with any Photosecessionist, whose prints were not only of considerable artistic merit but invaluable historic documents: Brady, the Civil War photographer. Mathew B. Brady (he did not know what the B. stood for) was born in upper New York in about 1823. As a young man he met Samuel Finley Breese Morse, an able painter best known as the in ventor of the telegraph. Through him Brady became interested in Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre's invention— and in the photographic experiments which Morse and Professor J. W. Draper were making. About 1842 Mathew Brady opened a studio at Broadway & Fulton Street to take the likenesses of the Quality. He was immediately successful, made numerous improvements in the process. Tinted Brady daguerreotypes on ivory won a gold medal at the London World's Fair of 1851. About 1855 successful Photographer Brady imported from Britain one Alexander Gardner, an expert in the wet plate process invented by Frederick Scott Archer, which used glass plates dipped in collodion, permitted almost instantaneous exposures. Brady & Gardner later opened another studio in Washington. Almost every eminent U. S. citizen felt it necessary to sit for Brady & Gardner.
At the beginning of the Civil War Mathew Brady, rich and famed, with luxuriant whiskers and curly black locks, went to Abraham Lincoln and Allan Pinkerton, head of the U. S. Secret Service, and begged to be allowed to accompany the Union Army, record its deeds in action. The first news photographer gave up his comfortable studio, built a little black wagon for a traveling .dark room (nicknamed the "What-is-it?'' by inquisitive soldiers), and took the field in his own uniform, a floppy straw hat and a long linen duster.