Young open clusters are ideal laboratories to understand star formation process. We present deep UBV I and Halpha photometry for the young open cluster IC 1590 in the center of the H II region NGC 281. Early-type members are selected from UBV photometric diagrams, and low-mass pre-main sequence (PMS) members are identified by using Halpha photometry. In addition, the published X-ray source list and Gaia astrometric data are also used to isolate probable members. A total of 408 stars are selected as members. The mean reddening obtained from early-type members is <E(B-V) = 0.40 +/- 0.06 (s.d.). We confirm the abnormal extinction law for the intracluster medium. The distance modulus to the cluster determined from the zero-age main-sequence fitting method is 12.3 +/- 0.2 mag (d = 2.88 +/- 0.28 kpc), which is consistent with the distance d = 2.70 ^+0.24 _-0.20 kpc from the recent Gaia parallaxes. We also estimate the ages and masses of individual members by means of stellar evolutionary models. The mode of the age of PMS stars is about 0.8 Myr. The initial mass function of IC 1590 is derived. It appears a steeper shape (Gamma = -1.49 +/- 0.14) than that of the Salpeter/Kroupa initial mass function for the high mass regime (m > 1 M_sun). The signature of mass segregation is detected from the difference in the slopes of the initial mass functions for the inner (r < 2.5) and outer region of this cluster. We finally discuss the star formation history in NGC 281.
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