The Anderson Galleries and the Intimate Gallery were galleries where Alfred Stieglitz was able to show his works after the closing of his 291 galleries. At the Anderson Galleries, Stieglitz was able to show some of his photos that were taken between 1886 to 1921, which feature some of the photos that he had taken of Georgia O’Keeffe. His first exhibition in the Anderson Galleries featured 145 photos that Stieglitz had taken, which was published in 1921. During this time Stieglitz had shifted his art from European influenced modernism to American modernism. The European modernism style was prominently featured in his 291 galleries. All the galleries that Stieglitz had published in the Anderson Galleries were soon featured in the Intimate Gallery, a small space that Stieglitz had rented within the auction house’s building. The Intimate Gallery was supposed to be a place that displayed different types of art; however, Stieglitz was at the center of it, and he was able to control the sales and prices of each piece that was featured. He did this on the financial need of each artist that was featured. In this exhibit, Stieglitz wanted to show modernist art and he would often discuss this with people who were visiting the gallery.
The reason that I offered that background concerning those three events is because it helps me to explain what Georgia O’Keeffe: Hands and Breasts was doing socially and culturally when Alfred Stieglitz created it. To start with, Stieglitz was the one who took the photo and later had it published. His success in the early 20th century helped give him a platform to publish his work, so when he closed his 291 gallery and stopped publishing his Camera Works magazine, he still had a place where he could show his different works. He had started to create a name for himself and for the type of artwork that he was showing. He helped show that photography can in fact be a type of fine art, which today is now even considered a fine art type. It helped create connections so this type of art could be shown and displayed, and eventually inspire other artists. Georgia O’Keeffe getting her own exhibit helped keep her in the art world and helped her career grow as a modernist artist. With Stieglitz’s status in the art world, using her in his photography helped her gain a platform and an audience. Hands and Breasts was published in the Anderson Galleries, so the fact that Stieglitz was able to publish in the Anderson Galleries helps the photo get attention in the art world.
“Anderson Galleries and the Intimate Gallery.” The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Art Institute Chicago, 2016, https://archive.artic.edu/stieglitz/anderson-galleries-and-the-intimate….
O'Keeffe (hands), photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1918; published in Anderson Galleries, Accessed 3 April 2023