Frank Eugene

Frank Eugene, who began his photographic career in the late 19th century, is seen as one of the first American photographers whose practice was solely artistic rather than journalistic or scientifically experimental. Having studied drawing and painting at a German arts academy, Eugene initially took up photography as a hobby that helped him more thoroughly explore the human figure. He would manipulate his photographic negatives and prints with brushstrokes and scratches, making them truly blur the lines between photography, painting, and drawing. Just before permanently moving to Germany where he would become a well established artist, Eugene co-founded the Photo-Secession movement that advocated photography’s position as a truly artistic medium.