Edwin Hale Lincoln, Roses – The American Museum of Photography: Masterworks

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Edwin Hale Lincoln (U.S., 1848-1938): Roses

Platinum print, 7.5 x 9.5 inches, circa 1915

While Edwin Hale Lincoln was not affiliated with the powerful Photo-Secession, he had strong ties to the American Arts & Crafts movement; his photographs were featured in Gustav Stickley’s influential magazine, The Craftsman. Lincoln was a champion of “straight” photography at a time when gauzy pictorialism was in vogue, and this magnificent platinum print is a splendid example of his highly sophisticated and very modern vision.

The flowers are not shown in a bouquet, nor do they appear to have been arranged for the camera or even touched by human hands. There is a random, serendipitous quality to this photograph–the intermingling of blossoms and leaves, the few glistening drops of moisture, and the way the composition extends to the edges of the print.

 

Reference: Wm. B. Becker, “Permanent Authentic Records: The Arts & Crafts Photographs of Edwin Hale Lincoln,” History of Photography: An International Quarterly, vol. 13, no. 1, January 1989.