Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) is perhaps the most important figure in the history of the visual arts in America. Many experts revere Stieglitz as the greatest photographer ever, and his prints have established world-record prices at auction. But he was also a great discoverer and promoter of photographers and artists in other media, as well as a great publisher, patron, and collector.

Through both the excellence of his own work and his militant advocacy, Stieglitz won widespread acceptance of photography as a fine art. He was the publisher and editor in chief of Camera Work, a magnificently produced magazine devoted not only to photography but also to modernist art. At his gallery, "291," he presented the first American exhibitions of Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, and Brancusi - and he was the first to show the work of Georgia O'Keeffe, whom he would marry in 1924.