Harbor and Pier

A member of both the London-based Linked Ring and New York-based Photo-Secession, Mary Devens was an active figure in the international Pictorialist movement. At a time when Kodak’s sales slogan promised amateur snapshooters, “You press the button, we do the rest,” photographic artists like Devens sought to prove that their medium could rival the beauty and expressiveness of the traditional arts. In part, they did so by championing complex photographic print processes such as platinum and gum bichromate, used here by Devens, which allowed for greater manipulation of tone and texture.