Get To Know: Gertrude Käsebier

Starting out in Colorado, Gertrude Käsebier later relocated to New York. It was there she took photography lessons, opened a studio, and became one of the founders of the Photo-Secession Society.

This must have been a spectacular time for a pictorialist to be living in New York!

She became known for her misty, dreamy portraits of mothers and their children, but she also kept a close eye on the bottom line. Female-owned businesses in her time faced many intentional barriers to success, yet she did well financially. In 1899, one hundred dollars was a lot of money for a single photograph (about $3000 in today’s economy). However, that was the price for Käsebier’s “The Manger”. It set a record for the most money ever paid for an art photograph.

Gertrude Käsebier, The Manger, ca. 1899; Platinum print, 8 3/8 x 6 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of the Holladay Foundation; Photo by Lee Stalsworth