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Artists›Ralph Steiner

Ralph Steiner

Ralph Steiner

American, 1899

WA-00029593

Cleveland, OH, USA

PhotographyPhotography

Representation

None documented

21

Institutional Exhibitions

57

Works in Collection

98

Assets Indexed

4

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ3418301 ULAN500022058

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Variants

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Reinstallation of the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980

No image

In the Twenties: Portraits from the Photography Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979–1980

No image

Art of the Twenties

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979–1980

No image

Photography for Collectors

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Public Landscapes

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974

No image

Photo Eye of the 20s

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1970

No image

Steichen Gallery Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1967

No image

Edward Steichen Photography Center

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

The Photographer's Eye

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

50 Photographs by 50 Photographers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1962

No image

30th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1959

Field Verification (4 fields)

4 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearMoMA· 93%✓
LocationMoMA· 93%✓
NationalityMoMA· 93%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5631
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Ralph Steiner was an American photographer and filmmaker whose work ranged from precisionist still lifes and industrial studies to documentary films exploring labor and social conditions. Active from the 1920s through the 1980s, he employed photography as both a formal investigation into geometry and light and a tool for social advocacy. His images of commonplace objects and urban landscapes demonstrated an austere aesthetic that influenced American modernist photography. He also directed and produced documentary films that engaged directly with political and economic themes of the mid-twentieth century.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Photography

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (57)

Fire Escapes, New York

Fire Escapes, New York

1965 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 19.8 × 19.3 cm (7 13/16 × 7 5/8 in.); Mount: 43.2 × 35.2 cm (17 1/16 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Hanging Sheets

1960 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1968

6 15/16 × 9 3/8" (17.6 × 23.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Hanging Sheets, Untitled

Hanging Sheets, Untitled

1960 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1979

7 9/16 × 9 3/4" (19.3 × 24.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Gypsy: On the Road (Curves Ahead)

1950 · gelatin silver print

Image: 18 x 23.2 cm (7 1/16 x 9 1/8 in.); Paper: 20 x 25.2 cm (7 7/8 x 9 15/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.); Image with black margin: 18.6 x 23.8 cm (7 5/16 x 9 3/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Mechanicville, New York

Mechanicville, New York

1939 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 1/2" (24.1 × 19.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Morris Carnovsky and Lee Strasberg of the Group Theater

Morris Carnovsky and Lee Strasberg of the Group Theater

1936 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 24.4 × 19.3 cm (9 5/8 × 7 5/8 in.); Paper: 25.4 × 20.2 cm (10 × 8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

S.J. Perlman

1935 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 23.7 × 19.1 cm (9 3/8 × 7 9/16 in.); Paper: 25.4 × 20.2 cm (10 × 8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Broad Street

1935 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/2 × 8 3/4" (19.0 × 22.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Factory

1935 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 1/2" (24.1 × 19.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Mr. Warren

1935 · Gelatin silver print

8 1/4 × 6 1/4" (21.0 × 15.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Five Corners

1935 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/2 × 9 1/2" (19.0 × 24.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Eight O'Clock Coffee

Eight O'Clock Coffee

1935 · Gelatin silver print

7 5/8 × 9 1/2" (19.3 × 24.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

New York

1935 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/4 × 9 3/8" (18.4 × 23.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

S. J. Perlman

1933 · Gelatin silver print

9 3/8 × 7 9/16" (50.8 × 40.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Philadelphia Savings Bank

Philadelphia Savings Bank

1932 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/2 × 9 5/8" (19.0 × 24.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

American Rural Baroque

American Rural Baroque

1930 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/2 × 9 1/2" (19.1 × 24.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Henry Billings, Woodstock

Henry Billings, Woodstock

1930 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 5/8" (24.1 × 19.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Tree I

1930 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 1/2" (24.1 × 19.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Bank, Saratoga Springs

Bank, Saratoga Springs

1930 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 5/8" (24.1 × 19.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Self-Portrait

1930 · Gelatin silver print

8 1/8 × 8 1/16" (25.5 × 20.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Self-Portrait

1930 · Gelatin silver print

8 × 6 1/8" (20.3 × 15.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1930 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 5/8" (24.1 × 19.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

American Rural Baroque

American Rural Baroque

1930 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/2 × 9 1/2" (19 × 24.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

American Rural Baroque

American Rural Baroque

1929 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 19.2 × 24.1 cm (7 9/16 × 9 1/2 in.); Mount: 43.4 × 35.5 cm (17 1/8 × 14 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 57 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

57 published of 90 catalogued · 76 with image

MoMA
33 publishedof 66 catalogued66 img
Art Institute Chicago
10 published10 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published
The Met
7 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 7)

7 entries · 1 sources

The Creaking Chair
1926 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Always Camels
1922 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Tug and New York Skyline
1922 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Ham and Eggs
1929 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
'NEHI' Billboard in a Field
1929 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Coconut Factory
1925 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Gypsy: On the Road (Curves Ahead)
1950 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Ralph Steiner, Self-Portrait (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

6

Movements1

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art Artsy

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction