What was the relationship between photography and fine art at the end of WWI?

What was the relationship between photography and fine art at the end of WWI?

• A. Photography was fully established as a recognized fine art
• B. Photography was still establishing itself as a recognized fine art
• C. Photography was not considered art at all
• D. Photography was banned from galleries

Answer: (B)

After World War I, the art world was rethinking what could count as fine art, including photography. While photographers and critics increasingly argued that photographs could be serious, artistic works, the status of photography as a recognized art form had not yet been solidly established. There was momentum from movements that treated photography as art, and some galleries and critics began to embrace it, but many institutions still treated it mainly as a scientific or documentary medium rather than as fine art. This period marked a transition and ongoing debate, rather than a final, universal acceptance. So the best description is that photography was still establishing itself as a recognized fine art.

After World War I, the art world was rethinking what could count as fine art, including photography. While photographers and critics increasingly argued that photographs could be serious, artistic works, the status of photography as a recognized art form had not yet been solidly established. There was momentum from movements that treated photography as art, and some galleries and critics began to embrace it, but many institutions still treated it mainly as a scientific or documentary medium rather than as fine art. This period marked a transition and ongoing debate, rather than a final, universal acceptance. So the best description is that photography was still establishing itself as a recognized fine art.