Edward Steichen, Photographer, Dies at 93 [NYT obituary, 1973]
Citation
[Author attribution NOT confirmed this session — attributed to Whitman, Alden in task brief, consistent with his NYT role 1964–1976 but not independently verified.] [Obituary of Edward Steichen.] The New York Times, [ca. 26 March 1973 — date from unverified web search result; section and page NOT confirmed]. See Notes for what was and was not confirmed in this session.
Tier justification
Tier 3: named-author article in the New York Times (a newspaper of record explicitly listed under Tier 3 in CREDIBILITY.md). Alden Whitman is the named author; his authorship of this obituary is consistent with his role as NYT chief obituary writer 1964–1976, and is attributed in the task brief. Independent confirmation of Whitman’s authorship of this specific obituary was NOT obtained from a source fetched in this session.
Relevance
The primary newspaper-of-record obituary for Edward Steichen, published the day after his death (25 March 1973). Steichen died at his farm in West Redding, Connecticut, two days before his 94th birthday. The NYT obituary is the standard secondary citation for Steichen’s death in the scholarly literature on The Family of Man. Whitman’s approach (he often pre-interviewed subjects before their deaths) may mean the obituary contains direct Steichen quotations not available elsewhere.
Key excerpts / pages
- Date of death: 25 March 1973, at his farm in West Redding, Connecticut (confirmed via multiple sources in web search, fetched 2026-04-30, consistent across Wikipedia, Britannica summary in search results, CNA website).
- Age at death: 93 (died two days before his 94th birthday on 27 March 1879).
- NYT obituary date: reported as 26 March 1973 in search results (fetched 2026-04-30); section and page NOT confirmed.
- Alden Whitman as author: attributed in task brief and consistent with his NYT role 1964–1976 (confirmed via Wikipedia article on Alden Whitman, fetched 2026-04-30). Whitman’s authorship of THIS obituary was NOT independently confirmed from a source fetched this session.
- Interior text of obituary NOT read this session (NYT TimesMachine requires subscription; ProQuest not accessed).
Notes
- Flagged
verified: falsebecause: (a) the obituary text was not fetched or read in this session; (b) Whitman’s authorship of this specific obituary is attributed in the task brief but not independently confirmed; (c) page/section number not confirmed. - To verify: access NYT TimesMachine or ProQuest Historical Newspapers, search 26 March 1973.
- Alden Whitman (1913–1990) was NYT chief obituary writer 1964–1976 (confirmed via Wikipedia article on Alden Whitman, fetched 2026-04-30). His papers (1935–1986) are held at NYPL (confirmed via NYPL archives finding aid search, fetched 2026-04-30; finding aid page returned HTTP 403).
- Cross-references:
src-steichen-1963-life,src-moma-1961-steichen-the-photographer. - A web search (fetched 2026-04-30) returned a reference to “March 26, 1973, Page 81” in NYT archives — this page reference NOT independently confirmed; treat as unverified.