Fred Holland Day

At the turn of the 19th century, Fred Holland Day, better known as F. Holland Day, made huge contributions to how the world considered photography. Born to a wealthy family in Boston, Day, unconcerned with making a living, devoted his energy to philanthropy and his spare time to writing on photography as a form of visual art. He backed up these controversial claims with his own photographic career that proved that photographs could invoke as much analytical discussion, controversy, and critical acclaim as any painting. Day’s most well known works are self portraits in which the artist appears as Jesus suffering on the cross. Committed to his practice, Day starved himself, let his hair and beard grow ungroomed, and imported loin cloths from Syria to achieve a recognizable aesthetic. Day meshed his religious iconography with male nudity and suggestions of homoeroticism—a break with convention that established him in art history.