1908 - 58 drawings by Auguste Rodin (first exhibit of a "modern artist" in America)

1st American exhibits of:

Mission of Stieglitz: "establish for myself an America in which I can breath as a free man" (instead of running to another country).

He was blunt, fastidious, opinionated, frequently gloomy

Stieglitz elevated photography to level of art.  He waited for the exact moment and had an extraordinary grasp of the mechanics of camera, film & darkroom.

He traveled to Europe four times 1904-1911, guided by Max Weber.  Stieglitz was not an agent; he rejected the idea of profit from art and was often supported by his father (a rich wool merchat) and gifts and loans from friends. His goal at the 291 was not to discover artists who would receive high fees but rather to provide an atmosphere of creative freedom.

The public wanted definitions & explanations.  Stieglitz disagreed, claiming that: painting

1) a work must be judged for itself alone

2) a work must not be compared to anything in the real world

3) "If you ask what a thing means, a picture, or music, or whatever, you may learn somehing about the people you ask, but as for learning about the thing you seek to know, you will have to sene 'it in the end through your own experience, so that you had better save your energy and not go through the world asking what cannot be communicated in words. If the Artist could describe in words what he does, then he would never have created it."

 Robert Henri: 1) shied away from abstract painters; acknowledged skill in modern art but prefered democracy in art and 2) promoted a single cause - American art

Stieglitz: 1) art is not democratic; art purely for its own sake or for the appreciation of the enlightened and receptive few and 2) was equally devoted to American and modern art

In April 1910 when the Society of Indepentent Artists held its first exhibit, Stieglitz organized the first group show of American modernists. "You'll never beat the Academy at its own stupid game by substituting quantity for quality." - Stieglitz

Stieglitz considered Henri and group conventional and even retarded Henri regarded modern art as faddish and undemocratic. (They ignored each other in public)

Stieglitz was overprotective; "sits when others stand and stands when other sit"; "a missionary in blackest Fifth Avenue"; he was refered to as one of great teachers with Socrates, Paul and Karl Marx;

Stieglitz and Henri had in common:

1) battle against academies

2) encouraged young artists to express themselves

They had in contrast:

1) Ash Can movement was democratic; provided broad base of support for art.

2) Abstract art was only for enlightened few; promoted craftsmanship, quality (set standard)

(Henri provided "middle of road" - reject academies without "going off the deep end")

 The 291 artists were eventually called "Mop and Pail Brigade." The gallery closed its doors in 1917; the artists experienced loneliness, discouragement, isolation, sometimes joy of discovery.

These artists introduced two things into American art (both of which went against the American grain):

1) art as experimental research (because threatened status quo)

2) quality in art (because negated principle of democracy)