83 gelatin silver prints
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.678–760

Plate titles are based on Steichen’s own written captions of the photographs. More detailed inscription information and research on the photographs can be found by clicking on the album pages. For a complete list of the album plates, click here.

The map below shows the sites featured in the album, places Steichen was stationed while serving in the AEF, and the shifting Western Front during the last months of the war.

Click to enlarge the map

The album in the Art Institute’s collection was assembled by Steichen in 1919 from prints he kept following his military discharge. Many such pictures entered public and private collections and in some cases were assembled into albums that chronicled aerial photography during the war. Steichen’s pride in his work for the AEF is made clear in this unique compilation, which he personally captioned and dedicated to a member of a prominent family of art patrons.

Lillie R. Seney Robinson, to whom Steichen dedicated the album, was the daughter of George I. Seney—a prominent banker, philanthropist, and art collector based in New York. Robinson’s sister, Kate Seney Simpson, and her husband, John Woodruff Simpson, were likewise prominent art patrons and major supporters of the artist Auguste Rodin, with whom Steichen had a close friendship. Some have speculated that Steichen introduced them to Rodin, as it is known that they all visited the artist’s studio together as early as 1901, when Steichen was living in France. Kate Simpson commissioned a bust from Rodin, which today is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. The photographer corresponded with the family throughout the war and likely encountered them at Rodin’s funeral, shortly after his arrival on French shores in November 1917.

Kate Seney Simpson posing for Rodin in his studio, 1902. Photograph by Ouida Grant. Archives of the Museé Rodin. Published in Ruth Butler, Rodin: The Shape of Genius, 1996, p. 412.

 
The album was on view in its entirety for the first time in the exhibition Sharp, Clear Pictures: Edward Steichen’s World War I and Condé Nast Years, at the Art Institute of Chicago June 28, 2014 through September 28, 2014.

Figure 1. Cover of untitled album of World War I photographs assembled by Edward Steichen in 1919. Gift of William Kistler, 1977.678–760.

Figure 2. Inscription on the front inside cover of the album.

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.678

Throughout his career, Steichen remained his own greatest promoter. His war years were no exception, as he took great pride in the technical and leadership skills he brought as an experienced photographer. In a report written at the end of the war, referring to himself in the third person, he boastfully wrote:

Captain, now Major, Steichen during those critical days was handling the work of two or more men. . . . [He] covered all the zone of activities at the front, organizing, advising, and coordinating matters of policy, technique, supply, and administration. Fortunately for the Photographic Section this officer was a photographer of twenty years experience and international reputation before the war and had been attached to the Section from its conception in Washington in August 1917.[1]

Printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink: “2”; inscribed verso, on album page, center, sideways, in graphite: “Vauquois”

 
[1] Edward Steichen, “History of the Headquarters Office, Photographic Section, Air Service, U.S.A.,” in Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, series G, vol. 1, compiled by Colonel Edgar S. Gorrell (War Department, American Expeditionary Forces, 1918–19, reprinted by National Archives and Record Service, 1974), p. 3–4.

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.679

While the sites included by Steichen in his album do not depict the most significant battlefields of the First World War, they do reflect the AEF’s involvement in the conflict. The St. Mihiel sector was the location of the first American-led offensive of the war and was considered a proving ground for the AEF. The American’s strategic plan integrated airplane squadrons for both bombing and observation missions, and as a result was one of the largest air battles of the war.

Inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “Ruins of Apremont (St Mihiel Sector)”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink: “3”; unmarked verso

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.680

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was part of the final Allied offensive of the war, and its momentum would drive German forces on the Western Front to retreat farther than they had for years. This would be instrumental to the signing of the armistice of November 11, 1918.

Military records indicate that the Photographic Section encountered significant obstacles while setting up its program overseas. By the time of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the Photographic Section was fully operational—Steichen reported that more than 50,000 prints were made and distributed over the course of five days in preparation for the battle, contributing in large measure to the Allied victory.

The value of aerial photography was not been immediately recognized, and procuring the necessary tools had proved especially challenging. Until the last battles of the war, Steichen and his team had to deal with inadequately trained personnel, delayed supplies, and obsolete equipment. Steichen and his superior officer, Major James Barnes, made several trips to the headquarters of their French and British counterparts for training and relied heavily on their resources.

Inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “East of Avocourt (Argonne)”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink “4”; unmarked verso

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.681

Inscribed recto, in negative, lower right, diagonally, in white: “N / [arrow pointing up]”; recto, in negative, along bottom edge, in white: “9566. / U.S. 4 A.C. 90SQ. 4 PHOTO. SEC. B463 NOMENY 89.7-33.4 25.8.18 11 H 2900 M 52 CM.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “vertical photograph from 9000 feet / showing ruined town of Nomeny [underlined]. (all roofs shot in [sic]”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink: “5”; unmarked verso

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.682

One of the greatest challenges involved in aerial photography was deciphering the resulting images, as familiar landscapes often appeared as abstract patterns. Steichen recognized the need to create an efficient system of interpretation, and he fought for adequate training programs throughout his active duty, as he later explained:

The success with which aerial photographs can be exploited is measured by the natural and trained ability of those concerned with their study of interpretation. The aerial photograph is in itself harmless and valueless. It enters into the category of “instruments of war” when it has disclosed the information written on the surface of the print. The average vertical aerial photographic print is upon first acquaintance as uninteresting and unimpressive a picture as can be imagined. Without considerable experience and study it is more difficult to read than a map, for it badly represents nature from an angle we do not know.[1]

This diagram, from a 1917 book published by the army to aid the interpretation of aerial photography, shows how battlefield landmarks might appear from the air.

From Illustrations to Accompany Notes on the Interpretation of Aeroplane Photographs, Series A, 1917, pl. 2.

Inscribed recto, in negative, along bottom edge, in white: “9817. / U.S. 4 A.C. 90SQ 4 PHOTO. SEC. B510 N.W. LIMEY 363.9 – 234.9 25.8.18 13 H 3000M 52CM.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “German Front line Trenches was [crossed out] (St. Mihiel Sector) / dark zig-zag line, trenches and white edge to Trench is excavted [sic] earth. / (note trenches running through the woods)”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink “6”; unmarked verso

 
[1] Edward Steichen, “American Aerial Photography at the Front,” The Camera: The Magazine for Photographers (July 1919), p. 359.

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.683

Printed recto, upper left, above image, in black ink: “N.W. VILLERS-EN-PRAYERS / 7-9-18 ALT. 2800 M. / F 2 CAMERA 50 CM. / PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION U.S. AIR SERVICE A.E.F.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “In Chateau Thierry Sector / Showing Seven bridges destroyed by retreating enemy forces.”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink: “7”; unmarked verso

This French-made Brequet 14 airplane, which appears on the following album page as well as in the photograph below, was flown by American forces. This model is a bomber, as can be seen by the bomb racks on the leading edge of the lower wings, but these planes were also used for photographic reconnaissance. With the pilot in front, the observer would sit in the second seat, with the camera, typically a 50-cm long De Maria, mounted between them. The observer was in charge of taking photographs and making real-time notes on ground movements. In addition, he was the rear defense, manning a set of rear-ward pointing machine guns and scanning the clouds for approaching enemy aircraft.

The Brequet 14 was designed to carry the De Maria cameras used by the Allies, but there was no standard way to mount the cameras inside the planes, and a variety of ingenious combinations of springs, straps, and foam rubber was used to minimize the effect of the vibration of the engine on the clarity of the photographs. This photograph shows tennis balls being used as shock absorbers.

“18 x 24 cm., 50 cm. focal length De Maria installed in an old type Brequet. French tennis ball suspension.” From Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, 1974, series G, vol. 1.

Inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “U.S. Bombing airplane above clouds”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink “8”; unmarked verso

Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Kistler, 1977.685

Photographic observation planes often flew in formation, with one plane assigned to photography and the rest present as defense against enemy aircraft. While it is not known if this was the case when this photograph was taken, it is likely, since resources were at a premium.

The information gleaned from aerial observation behind the frontlines was highly valued, and as a result, observation planes were prime targets for enemy fire, both from antiaircraft shells from below and enemy aircraft mid-flight. The aerial dogfights associated with World War I often emerged from the defense of observation missions.

Inscribed recto, on album page, lower left, in black/brown ink: “U. S. bombing airplane over enemy territory”; printed recto, on album page, lower right, in black ink: “Photographic Section. / Air Service. American Expeditionary Forces.”; inscribed recto, on album page, lower right, in blue ink: “9″; unmarked verso