Edward Steichen's 1902 Photograph of Rodin's 'The Thinker' in Metropolitan Museum Collection

A 1902 gum bichromate print by Edward Steichen depicting Auguste Rodin's sculpture 'The Thinker' entered The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection in 2005. Measuring 15-1/2 by 19 inches, the photograph was acquired through the Gilman Collection with support from Harriette and Noel Levine. The work carries the accession number 2005.100.289. Artcritical published information about this acquisition on July 29, 2010. Steichen's photographic interpretation of Rodin's iconic bronze sculpture represents an early 20th-century artistic dialogue between photography and sculpture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses this significant photographic work within its extensive holdings. The acquisition demonstrates the museum's commitment to expanding its photography collection with historically important pieces. This particular print exemplifies Steichen's mastery of the gum bichromate process, a photographic technique popular among pictorialist photographers in the early 1900s.