Clarence White

Title: Morning
Artist: Clarence White
Medium: Photogravure print
Year: 1908

Give a brief description of the movement, photographer, or term you researched. How are they significant to the history of photography (50-75 words)?

Clarence White was a photographer and a founding member of the Photo-Secession movement. During his lifetime he was widely recognized as a master of the art form for his consummate sentimental, pictorial portraits and for his excellence as a teacher of photography. Near the end of his career he founded the Clarence H. White School of Photography, which produced many of the best-known photographers of the 20th century including, Paul Outerbridge, Margaret Bourke-White, Dorothea Lange and, Ralph Steiner.


Write a short personal reaction to the movement, photographer or term you researched. What is interesting or not interesting about the work (50 – 75 words).

His portraits and landscapes show a particular interest in chiaroscuro. None of his pictures have heavy shadows or dark tones; he specialized in light, delicate pictures. White was one of the photographers promoted by Stieglitz as the 'Photo-Secession', exhibiting his work in their exhibitions and publishing it in Camera Work - including a whole issue in 1908. His pictures are characterized by his use of light, often creating a virtual glow from the highlights. He experimented widely with printing processes, including platinum and gum dichromate.


Name (please only include if it is ok to publish on blog): Rachel Desalegne