DOROTHY NORMAN, Church Steeple, New York, 1930s, 3.5x2.438" Gelatin silver print, Printed 1930s, Signed, titled, and dated in pencil and ink with photographer's stamp on mount verso; covered Philadelphia Museum stamp; miscellaneous notations in gray, red, and blue pencil.

Small gem by Dorothy Norman, Alfred Stieglitz's assistant and muse in the 1930s.

Photographer, writer, and social activist Dorothy Norman (1905-1997) created an invaluable depiction of an era through her sensitive and revealing portraiture of early twentieth century artists. Born in Philadelphia, Norman studied English and Literature at Smith College, and at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

In 1925, Norman married and with her husband, Edward A. Norman, had 2 children. The Norman family settled in New York City; it was here that Norman unearthed her passions for photography and writing. Norman's involvement with photography was inspired by her intimate relationship with seminal photographic figure Alfred Stieglitz, who taught her the mechanics of the medium and was a frequent subject of her work. Norman had met Stieglitz in 1927 at The Intimate Gallery in New York City. As their friendship deepened to love, Stieglitz photographed Norman and encouraged her to make her own photographs.

Under Stieglitz's mentorship Norman learned development and printing techniques and began documenting the activities and installations at An American Place, Stieglitz's next gallery, where she also oversaw the operations. There, Norman made revealing portraits of many artists and writers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Einstein, Indira Ghandi, Thomas Mann, and Richard Wright, establishing her involvement in the artistic and cultural community. During this period she also photographed extensively in New York City, Cape Cod, and created many portraits of her mentor, Stieglitz.

Not only a talented photographer, Norman was also an accomplished writer. She was the publisher and editor of Twice a Year, an arts journal which appeared from 1938-1948, and included contributors Richard Wright, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Anaïs Nin, e e cummings and Bertolt Brecht. She wrote a column in The New York Post from 1942-1949. Norman also published several books devoted to her lover and mentor - Stieglitz Memorial Portfolio (1947) and Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer (1973). Stieglitz's sudden death in 1946 affected Norman tremendously; she devoted herself with renewed commitment to political action and photography.

Credit: https://ccp.arizona.edu/artists/dorothy-norman

Very good. Minor wear, dents, red ink mark on mount in lower right corner.