A leading collector of the works of photographer Edward Steichen has agreed to donate 142 vintage photographs by the American master to three U.S. museums.
The gift, announced Friday by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will benefit the collections of LACMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Each museum will receive more than 40 works by Steichen from the Los Angeles collectors Richard and Jackie Hollander who, several years ago, purchased more than 500 images from the photographer's estate. After their donation, they will still have one of the largest collections of Steichen works in private hands.
Steichen, who began his career as a painter and Pictorialist, is regarded as one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. The New York-based photographer helped transform the medium through his innovations in portraiture, fashion, theater and advertising photography.
LACMA announced it plans an exhibition of the works from July to November. The Block Museum will show its holdings Sept. 20-Dec. 31. The Whitney did not immediately announce any plans.
