New Exhibition Edward Steichen and the Garden Provides a Portrait of the Artist Through the Lens of the Garden
Beginning its three-city tour at George Eastman Museum, March 27–September 6
Rochester, N.Y., February 26, 2026—Visitors to the George Eastman Museum have the opportunity to experience Edward Steichen and the Garden, on view from March 27 to September 6, 2026. The exhibition explores how Edward Steichen’s (1879–1973) immersive relationship with gardening and nature shaped his photographic vision, revealing a creative evolution central to his enduring legacy.
Over a professional life spanning seven decades, Steichen established himself as one of the most important figures in the history of photography. What is less known is that for much of that time he also devoted himself to the nurturing of plants and gardens. Horticulture was an activity that sustained him, and through which he developed ardently held beliefs regarding the interrelationship of creativity, nature, and art.
Steichen’s creative evolution was tightly bound to his spiritual engagement with nature as well as his more pragmatic explorations of plant genetics and hybridization. Through his development of original varieties of the genus Delphinium, Steichen argued and demonstrated that plant breeding was a creative art form. His results as a horticulturalist were so exquisite that they were famously exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1936, which led to him being considered the greatest delphinium breeder in the United States by the international horticultural community.
“Initially, as a gardener myself, I was curious to uncover the full story of Steichen as a horticulturist because I recognized certain behaviors in Steichen that are particular to gardeners,” said Sarah Anne McNear, author and exhibition curator. “What I had not anticipated was how one activity—plant breeding—was intricately entwined with his visual art practice. That’s when I knew I had a story to tell.”
“The Eastman Museum has been the proud recipient of several major donations from Steichen’s estate and relatives, which constitute impressive holdings of photographs and archival materials now held in our Department of Photography and Library Special Collections. Our commitment to Steichen’s work and legacy made the museum a natural partner in this project,” said Bruce Barnes, Ron and Donna Fielding Director of the Eastman Museum. “Additionally, Steichen’s passion for horticulture is parallel to George Eastman’s own passion for gardening, creating an additional connection for our audiences.”
The objects from the Eastman Museum are presented alongside significant loans from public and private collections, including Art Bridges, the Block Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection, and the Sheldon Museum of Art. Together, the objects represent Steichen's lifelong engagement with the garden through his work as a photographer, painter, and plant breeder.
For ticket information, hours, and more visit eastman.org.
Curated by Sarah Anne McNear.
Edward Steichen and the Garden is made possible by generous support from the Rubens Family Foundation as the Presenting Sponsor, and Midtown Athletic Club as a Lead Sponsor.
Related Publication
An accompanying hardcover book by author and exhibition curator Sarah Anne McNear is available in the Museum Shop and will be available through major booksellers beginning March 10. Co-published by the George Eastman Museum and Yale University Press.
Traveling Exhibition
Following the conclusion of Edward Steichen and the Garden at the George Eastman Museum, the exhibition will travel to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts from June 17 to September 12, 2027, followed by the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from October 16, 2027 to January 8, 2028.
Exhibition-related Programming
The George Eastman Museum will offer exhibition-related programming including an Exhibition Preview on Thursday, March 26 at 6 p.m. Additional programming will be added through the spring and summer. More information can be found at eastman.org/edward-steichen-and-garden.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 31,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books and archival materials related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. The museum is located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. The George Eastman Museum is supported with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information, visit eastman.org.