Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator. He was credited with transforming photography into an art form. Steichen began his photography career at the turn of the 20th century, working for magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair. He later became a pioneering figure in the art of photography, contributing to the development of modernism in photography through his experiments with light, composition, and form.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Steichen was a key member of the Photo-Secession movement, a group of photographers who sought to elevate photography to the status of fine art. He worked with a wide range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and abstract compositions. His most famous works include his portraits of famous personalities such as Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi and Greta Garbo, as well as his photographs of World War I and the works he produced while serving as the chief photographer for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

In 1955, Steichen became the director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he curated several important exhibitions, including the influential show "The Family of Man" in 1955. This exhibition, which consisted of 503 photographs from 68 countries, was a celebration of the human condition and a testament to Steichen's belief that photography could be a universal language.

Throughout his career, Steichen received numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious Hasselblad Award in 1965. He is remembered as a  pioneer of modern photography and a champion of the medium's ability to tell powerful stories and capture the essence of the human experience.