Paul Strand

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Lore & Background

Paul Strand was born Nathaniel Paul Stransky on October 16, 1890, in New York to Bohemian (Czech) parents. At age 12, his father gave him a camera. In his late teens, he studied under documentary photographer Lewis Hine at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. On a field trip, Strand first visited the 291 art gallery operated by Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, where modernist works moved him to take photography seriously. Stieglitz later promoted Strand's work in the gallery, in Camera Work, and in his studio. Early works like Wall Street experimented with formal abstractions, influencing Edward Hopper. Strand also used a hidden lens to take portraits without subjects' knowledge, a practice some criticized. In 1936, Strand helped found the Photo League, an association advocating social and political causes through photography. He and Elizabeth McCausland were particularly active, with Strand serving as an elder statesman. Both were left-leaning, and Strand was more than sympathetic to Marxist ideas. Strand worked in motion pictures as well, beginning with Manhatta (1921) with Charles Sheeler. He later lived in Mexico (1932–35) and worked on Redes (1936). Other films include The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) and Native Land (1942). From 1933 to 1952, Strand had no darkroom of his own. In 1949, Strand left the United States for Czechoslovakia and spent his remaining 27 years in Orgeval, France, assisted by his third wife, Hazel Kingsbury Strand. Although best known for early abstractions, his later still photography produced six book portraits of place, including Time in New England (1950), La France de Profil (1952), Un Paese (1955), Tir a'Mhurain / Outer Hebrides (1962), Living Egypt (1969), and Ghana: An African Portrait (1976). Strand married painter Rebecca Salsbury in 1922 (divorced 1933), Virginia Stevens in 1936 (divorced 1950), and Hazel Kingsbury in 1951, remaining married until his death.

Reader's Guide

Paul Strand's significance lies in his role as a pioneer who helped establish photography as a legitimate art form in the 20th century, alongside Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston. His early abstract work, such as Wall Street, influenced painters like Edward Hopper and demonstrated photography's capacity for formal experimentation. Strand also used the camera as a tool for social reform, co-founding the Photo League in 1936, which advocated for social and political causes. His career spanned six decades and included both still photography and filmmaking, with his first film Manhatta (1921) considered the first American avant-garde film. Strand's later years in Europe produced significant book portraits of place, reflecting his humanist approach. His left-leaning politics led to surveillance by US security services and his departure from America amid McCarthyism. Strand's legacy is preserved in major museum collections and his work continues to be exhibited internationally. He was posthumously inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 1984.

Did You Know?

• Strand's first camera was a gift from his father when he was 12 years old.
• When taking portraits, Strand would mount a false brass lens on the side of his camera while using a second working lens hidden under his arm, so subjects likely had no idea he was taking their picture.
• From 1933 to 1952, Strand had no darkroom of his own and used those of others.
• Strand's photograph 'Akeley Motion Picture Camera (1922)' sold for $783,750 at Christie's New York on April 4, 2013, the highest price ever for one of his works.
• Strand insisted his books be printed in Leipzig, East Germany during the 1950s, even if it meant they were initially banned in the American market due to their Communist provenance.