Edward Steichen: In Exaltation of Flowers

While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

Edward Steichen was hailed as ‘the greatest photographer that ever lived’ by none other than Alfred Stieglitz – but his early career as a painter is less well known. His most ambitious work in that medium, a seven-panel mural completed in 1913, is at the centre of this display, which arrives at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, on the latest leg of a tour across the US (23 February–30 May). In Exaltation of Flowers was designed for the New York home of Steichen’s friends Agnes and Eugene Meyer. The mural is a group portrait which depicts close friends of the artist and his patrons, including the dancer Isadora Duncan and the collector Charles Lang Freer, alongside elaborate floral allegory, rendered in tempera and gold leaf. The Chrysler’s version of the show also includes examples of Steichen’s photography found in the museum’s collection. Find out more from the Chrysler Museum of Art website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

In Exaltation of Flowers (Petunia-Caladium-Budleya) (1913), Edward Steichen. Courtesy Art Bridges

In Exaltation of Flowers (Rose-Geranium) (1913), Edward Steichen. Courtesy Art Bridges

In Exaltation of Flowers (Golden-Banded Lily-Violets) (1913), Edward Steichen. Courtesy Art Bridges

The Flat-Iron, Evening (1906), Edward Steichen. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA