Maternity, 1897
Gumprint, 11 3/4 x 8 7/16 in. (29.8 x 21.4 cm)
Everett V. Meeks, B.A. 1901, Fund
1975.20
Gertrude Käsebier, along with her fellow Pictorialist photographers, was engaged with establishing photography as an art form equal to drawing and painting. She often used gum Arabic in lieu of more conventional photographic emulsions to render a softer, washed appearance that approximated the quality of a drawing, and these works more closely resemble charcoal studies than photographic prints.
Käsebier discovered her interest in photography while taking pictures of her children. As a professional photographer, Käsebier would continue to be drawn to the subject of mother and child, as in this photograph of 1897, which she also exhibited under the titles "Adoration" and "The Vision." In 1899, Alfred Stieglitz identified Käsebier as the leading portrait photographer of her day.
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