

371
Edward Steichen
"Mr. and Mrs." -- The Sandburgs, Elmhurst, Illinois
- Estimate
- $7,000 - 9,000
Further Details
“I have always felt that, when my little sister acquired a husband, I acquired a brother. For with that marriage, there began a warm, close friendship, which has remained both fruitful and wonderful for both Carl and me to this day.”
—Edward Steichen
This photograph was originally given by Edward Steichen to poet, journalist, and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg. Steichen was introduced to Sandburg by his sister Lilian in 1907 on the Steichen family’s farm in Wisconsin. The two young men shared an intensity of interest in their respective fields, as well as a belief in finding an artistic voice that was distinctly American yet also emphatically new. Sandburg and Lilian Steichen married in 1908, thus cementing the personal and professional ties between the writer and photographer, ushering in a decades-long period of mutual creativity. Sandburg was a frequent subject for Steichen’s lens, and Steichen designed the jacket for Sandburg’s first book of poems. In 1929, Sandburg published Steichen The Photographer, a limited edition retrospective monograph. The two collaborated on a number of photography-related projects including the wartime Museum of Modern Art exhibition, Road to Victory. Throughout their lives, the two maintained a friendship characterized by a deep admiration of the work of the other.
This photograph of Carl Sandburg and Lilian Steichen was used on the cover of Helga Sandburg’s 1978 book about her parents, A Great & Glorious Romance: The Story of Carl Sandburg and Lilian Steichen.

Edward Steichen’s photograph of his sister and brother-in-law on the cover of Helga Sandburg’s book.