Frank Eugene

Frank Eugene German, b. United States, 1865-1936 Pictorial photographer Frank Eugene was known for his skillful hand-manipulation of images. Born Frank Eugene Smith in New York City, he attended City College of New York, then studied at the Royal Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Initially trained as a painter, Eugene took up photography in the mid-1880s and by the turn of the century was exhibiting his work widely. In 1899 he took part in exhibitions at the London Salon and at the Camera Club of New York, and the following year was elected to membership in England's Linked Ring. In 1902 Eugene became a founding member of the Photo-Secession and was selected by Alfred Stieglitz to be among the group of American photographers displaying work at the Esposizione Internationale d'Arte Moderna in Turin, Italy. That same year he was also included in the first Photo-Secession exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York. He subsequently participated in numerous photographic salons and shows, including the well-known 1910 exhibition of pictorial photography organized by Stieglitz for the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo. Eugene's work was also featured in several issues of Camera Work between 1904-16 (Stieglitz having earlier reproduced his photographs in Camera Notes). In 1906 Eugene moved to Germany, where he worked as a painter and continued to take photographs. Known as a "painter-photographer," he often manipulated a photographic image by drawing on the negative or marking it with an etching needle in order to achieve a desired effect in the final picture. In 1913 he was appointed to the world's first chair in pictorial photography at the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig. M.M.