The Terminal
1893, printed 1929/1932
Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 5.9 x 9.9 cm (2 5/16 x 3 7/8 in.) mount: 31.5 x 25 cm (12 3/8 x 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Accession Number
1949.3.76
Art Historical Context
Alfred Stieglitz's *The Terminal* (1893, printed 9/1932) captures a moment from the artist's early career, when he was pioneering photography as a fine art form. Taken during his travels in Europe, this intimate gelatin silver print depicts an urban scene—likely a bustling train station—rendered in crisp black-and-white tones. The medium, popular from the late 19th, allowed for exceptional detail and subtle gradations of gray, revolutionizing photographic expression and helping elevate the process from mere documentation to artistic vision. Stieglitz, a key figure in American modernism, champ...
About the Artist
Alfred Stieglitz · 1864–1946
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was a pioneering American photographer, art dealer, publisher, and advocate for the Modernist movement who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to German Jewish immigrant parents, Stieglitz spent his formative years studying mechanical engineering in Berlin, where he discovered photography in ...