Meanwhile, Steichen returned to the U.S. in February 1908 with a new group of photos for a show to be held at the gallery the following month. More importantly, he brought with him a group of prints lent to him by Henri Matisse, who at that time little known outside France. Stieglitz promptly assembled the prints for a show in the new space. It was the first show of any work by Matisse in the United States and the first one-man show for the artist outside of Paris, and it marked the turning point in the focus of the gallery. After this show, 291 was known much less for photography and much more as a leading force for modern art in America. Moreover, Stieglitz continued to make sure that the gallery was not just an exhibition space; he strongly believed in its original mission as being an educational facility and meeting place for those with avant-garde ideas. Describing the Matisse exhibition, he wrote "Here was the work of a new man, with new ideas – a very anarchist, it seemed, in art. The exhibition led to many heated controversies; it proved stimulating."