Background

Dorothy Norman was born on March 28, 1905 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and grew up in a well-to-do family. Norman spoke French and German, heard her first opera when she was 10, discovered art at the Barnes Collection. She developed an early sense of social injustice, despite the comforts of her life.

Education

Norman was educated at Smith College and then at the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1925.

Career

In the 1920s, Norman accepted a position with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) conducting research. She also became involved with the Planned Parenthood Association, an organization that was then in its early development stage.

In 1938 she published and edited a literary journal called Twice a Year, and in 1942 she began a weekly column for the New York Post entitled “A World to Live In”, which ran for seven years.

Her association with photographer Alfred Stieglitz brought her into the world of picture taking. Under Stieglitz’ mentorship, Norman learned development and printing techniques and began documenting the activities and installations at An American Place, Stieglitz’s next gallery, where she also oversaw the operations. Norman made revealing portraits of many artists and writers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Einstein, Indira Ghandi, Thomas Mann, and Richard Wright, establishing her involvement in the artistic and cultural community. During this period she also photographed extensively in New York City, Cape Cod, and created many portraits of her mentor, Stieglitz.

She was a founding member of Americans for Democratic Action and founded the American Citizens’ Committee for Economic Aid Abroad and American Emergency Food Committee for India. Her work in India culminated in her writing Indira Gandhi: Letters to an American Friend and Nehru: The First Sixty Years. Her other written works include The Hero: Myth, Image, and Symbol, Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer, and Encounters: A Memoir.

Achievements

• Norman's photographs have appeared in numerous museums around the United States, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the J. Paul Getty Museum.
  
  In 1968, Norman donated a large collection of photographs by herself and Stieglitz to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which were exhibited there that year.
  
  A larger number of Norman’s photographs were shown at the International Center of Photography in New York City in 1993 accompanied by a book, Intimate Visions: The Photographs of Dorothy Norman.
  
  She was a founder of American Citizens’ Committee for Economic Aid Abroad and American Emergency Food Committee for India, as well as a founding member of Americans for Democratic Action.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer: An Aperture Biography

    (Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), who was married to painter ...)

    1990
  • Encounters: A Memoir 1987
  • Alfred Stieglitz (Aperture Masters of Photography) 1989
  • The Hero: Myth / Image / Symbol 1990

• photo

  • Telephone, in front of Alfred Stieglitz "Equivalent," at An American Place, New York, c. 1940
    
    

    (Telephone, in front of Alfred Stieglitz "Equivalent," at ...)

  • Untitled - Wood's Hole
    
    Gelatin silver print; printed c.1931
    
    4 x 3 inches

    (Untitled - Wood's Hole Gelatin silver print; printed c.1...)

    1931

  • Untitled - Wood's Hole

    (Untitled - Wood's Hole)

    1932

  • Church Steeple, New York

    (1930s)

  • Water Lile in Bowl

    (1930s)

  • Moonflower

    1936

  • Georgia O'Keeffe Painting with Light Bulb

    1936

  • Lighthouse, Nobska Point

    1937

Politics

During the 1930s and 1940s Norman was an activist in various liberal causes, such as civil rights, education, and independence for India, she was also a Zionist. She was a founding member of New York City's Liberal Party and a member of the Americans for Democratic Action, and served on the boards of both the New York Urban League and the National Urban League.

Connections

In 1925 Dorothy married Edward A. Norman, they had two children together, Andrew and Nancy. Her marriage to Edward Norman ended in divorce in 1951.

Alfred Stieglitz was not only her mentor and friend, but also a lover. The relationship continued until his death in 1946.

husband:

Edward A. Norman

Son:

Andrew Norman

Daughter:

Nancy Norman

Partner:

Alfred Stieglitz