COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITURE
"THE
BIG SIX" BUSINESS & THE BAROQUE
1880-1915
BY
THOMAS YANUL, copyright
THERE
WAS A PERIOD IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITURE WHICH I REFER TO AS "BUSINESS &
THE
BAROQUE ". AND ALTHOUGH THE DATES ARE SOMEWHAT SOFT, ONE CAN
ROUGHLY
CONSIDER
THAT PERIOD TO BE ABOUT 1880 TO 1915. THIS IS DUE TO A CONVERGENCE
OF
TECHNOLOGY,
THE POPULARITY OF THE PERSONAL PORTRAIT, AND - AS IT PERTAINS TO
WOMEN
- THEIR COSTUMERY OF THE PERIOD. ALL THIS, COMBINED WITH A CERTAIN
STANDARD
OF ARTISTIC STYLE AND KNOWLEDGE CARRIED OVER FROM THE RIGORS
OF
RENAISSANCE-STYLE
SCHOOLING, THE PERIOD PRODUCED A STYLISH AND MONUMENTAL
RECORD
OF THE UPPER AND MIDDLE CLASSES. THE RESULTS: MEN WERE
PHOTOGRAPHED
FOR
BUSINESS - SERIOUS AND CONSERVATIVE. WOMEN DRESSED FOR ELEGANCE - THE
BAROQUE.. THESE PHOTOGRAPHERS KNEW THE ART OF BUSINESS, AND THE BUSINESS
OF ART.
ALTHOUGH
MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE MAKING PORTRAITS AS A COMMERCIAL ENDEAVOR,
ONLY
A RELATIVELY FEW ROSE ABOVE THE STATUS OF ORDINARY. IT IS A FEW OF
THESE "CREME DE LA
CREME"
INDIVIDUALS THAT THIS SITE IS INTENDED TO FOCUS ON. THESE PHOTOGRAPHERS,
(FOR THE
MOST PART MEN BUT NOT ALL) PRACTICED A TECHNICAL SKILL
NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A PAINTER USING
BRUSHES
AND OILS, BUT WHO ADVANCED THE USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO AN ART FORM JUST
AS
TRADITIONAL
PAINTERS HAD DONE.
THIS
SITE IS NOT MEANT TO COVER ALL THE MASTERS OF THIS MEDIUM, BUT SIMPLY PROVIDE
A SAMPLING OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE REPRESENTATIVE OF THEIR
DAY.
AND
IN THEIR DAY THESE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTISTS WERE WIDELY KNOWN AND REVERED BY
BOTH THEIR
PEERS
AND TO A GREAT DEGREE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
BY
"GENERAL PUBLIC" OF COURSE I MEAN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASSES. THOSE
WHO HAD THE
ECONOMIC
WHEREWITHALL TO ACQUIRE "HIGH CLASS GOODS".
AND
ALTHOUGH NOT WANTING TO GET INTO THE ARGUEMENT OVER COMMERCIAL VERSUS ARTISTIC
ENDEAVOR, LET ME SIMPLY SAY THAT I PERSONALLY FEEL THE THRUST OF 20TH CENTURY
NOTORIETY OF "ARTISTS" OVER COMMERCIAL PRACTITIONERS OF ANY ART IS WAY OUT
OF BALANCE. NUFF SAID...
TO
BEGIN, LET ME SAY THAT ALTHOUGH I CAN NAME NAMES, AND SHOW PHOTOS OF
WORKS
OF
THESE MASTER PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS, ONE OF THE KEY ASPECTS IN THE QUALITY
OF THE WORK CANNOT BE APPRECIATED ON AN ELECTRONIC SCREEN, OR EVEN IN THE
PRINTED MEDIUM. THE NATURE OF THE MATERIALS WHICH WERE PRINTED ON -
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPERS TO BE SPECIFIC - CANNOT BE KNOWN WITHOUT SEEING THE
ORIGINALS. THERE IS
NO
SUBSTITUTE TO VIEWING AN ORIGINAL PRINT. MUCH LIKE A FINE PAINTING, SEEING
THE ORIGINAL IS THE ULTIMATE APPRECIATION.
UNFORTUNATELY,
IN TODAY'S ARTISTIC MARKET, IT IS RARE INDEED TO BE ABLE TO VISIT WHAT IS
TOUTED AS A FINE ART MUSEUM AND SEE WORKS BY COMMERICAL ARTISTS.
WITH
FEW EXCEPTIONS, YOU DON'T SEE THEM. IT BRINGS TO MIND THE REJECTION OF NORMAN
ROCKWELL
BY
THE FINE ART COMMUNITY AT LARGE. AND YOU MIGHT THROW IN THE WYETH COMMUNITY
OF ARTISTS
ALSO.
FORTUNATELY, THE PUBLIC IN SOME CASES DISREGARDS THE CRITICS
AND APPRECIATES
SOMETHING
ON ITS OWN MERIT.
BUT
TO GO ON WITH THE PURPOSE OF THIS SITE. I HAVE GATHERED TOGETHER A
SMALL AMOUNT OF MATERIAL RELATING TO A SMALL GROUP OF PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO,
IN THEIR DAY, WERE KNOWN AS THE "BIG SIX". THE TERM WAS FOUND
IN A 1926 PUBLICATION ENTITLED
"WHO'S
WHO IN PROFESSIONAL PORTRAITURE IN
AMERICA" COPYRIGHT 1927 BY THE ABEL PUBLISHING CO.,
CLEVELAND,
OH. THE BOOK WAS DEDICATED
"TO THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE CONSTANTLY
STRIVEN TO RAISE THE STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL PORTRAITURE
WITH THE CAMERA".
THE
STATEMENT WHICH CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WAS A KIND OF REMINISCENCE IN THE
BACK
OF
THE BOOK GIVING DEFERENCE TO THE PAST. IT ACKNOWLEDGED PAST GENERATIONS OF
PHOTOGRAPHERS
WHO HAD LED THE WAY BRINGING PORTRAITURE TO A HIGH ART.
THIS
SITE WAS CREATED TO DISPLAY A SMALL AMOUNT OF BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL,
PHOTOS AND BASIC INFO RELATING TO THE "BIG SIX", HOPEFULLY TO INFORM
AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO RESEARCH AND PUBLISH INFORMATION RELATING TO THIS
AND OTHER PERIODS OF FINE COMMERICAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY.
THE
BIG SIX - WHO WERE THEY ?
ACCORDING
TO ABEL'S BOOK, THEY WERE: copyright yanul
-
J.C. STRAUSS OF ST.
LOUIS (1857-1924)
S.L. STEIN OF MILWAUKEE (1854-1922)
M.J. STEFFENS OF CHICAGO (1854-1928)
F.S. CLARK OF DETROIT (1865-1937)
P. MACDONALD OF NEW YORK CITY (1867-1942)
F. A. RINEHART OF OMAHA
(1862-1928)
