Edward Steichen, Master of Celebrity Portraiture

Lecture series by Paul Lesch organized in collaboration with the CNA on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of The Family of Man

Edward Steichen, Master of Celebrity Portraiture

Edward Steichen established himself as one of the great portraitists of the 20th century. Between 1898 and 1937, he created an impressive series of portraits, including several iconic self-portraits. His photos of celebrities from his time and members of his family, produced during his Pictorialist period in the early 20th century or for Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines in the 1920s and 30s, are among his most famous works. Using numerous illustrations, we will examine the history and aesthetics of his most emblematic portraits as well as lesser-known works.

Paul Lesch, PhD, served as Director of the National Audiovisual Center from 2016 to 2023. Since September 2023, he has been the "Commissioner of the Edward Steichen Collections" at the Ministry of Culture. He is the author of several books, including Heim ins Ufa-Reich? NS-Filmpolitik und die Rezeption deutscher Filme in Luxemburg 1933-1944 (WVT, Trier, 2002), Au nom de l’ordre public & des bonnes mœurs. Contrôle des cinémas et censure de films au Luxembourg 1895-2005 (CNA, Luxembourg, 2005), Albert Simon, caricaturiste de l’Escher Tageblatt (Ed. du Phare), D’Stater Kinoen (Binsfeld, 2013), and Alfred Hitchcock, The Brand (Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg, 2022). He is also the director of a documentary film about Perle Mesta, titled Call Her Madam (Samsa, 1997), and curator or co-curator of exhibitions on Hugo Gernsback, Thierry van Werveke, film sets, and Alfred Hitchcock. He is a member of the Governance Council of the University of Luxembourg, a full member of the Grand Ducal Institute, Arts and Letters section, and a corresponding member of the historical section of the same Institute. He is also President of the Board of the Fondation Indépendance.