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Born in Brooklyn in 1875, Samuel H. Gottscho acquired his first camera in 1896. Over the next few decades he photographed houses, gardens and country landscapes. However, it was not until the age of 50 that he abandoned his career as a traveling salesman and dedicated himself to being a full time photographer. He spent the first part of his new career doing architectural photography, for which he is perhaps best known.
The Library of Congress holds 29,000 works of the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, photos that he made with his son-in-law William Schleisner of a wide variety of homes, factories and historic buildings. This collection documents important achievements in American 20th century architecture and interior design. Samuel Gottscho was also interested in floral photography and in 1925 published How to Know and Enjoy Wild Flowers.
One of the techniques that he developed was the habitat picture which depicts a clear image of both the flower and the landscape in which it grows. Samuel Gottscho continued to photograph into his 70s, believing that he made some of his best pictures at that age. Samuel Gottscho passed away at the age of 96 in 1971.
For more information, see the Library of Congress website.
Bibliography:
- Donald Albrecht, The Man and the Myth Samuel Gottscho's architectural and interior photography changed the way we see New York, New York: Interior Design Magazine, September 2005.
- Max Kozloff, New York: Capital of Photography, New Haven: Yale University Press; New York: The Jewish Museum, 2002.
- Linda Lee, The Mythic City, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005.
- Richard Pare, Photography and Architecture: 1839-1939, Montreal: Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1982.
Member of The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD)
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