Surveys of Historic American Photography

Online information about American photography from sources other than Resource Library

 

 

American Photographs, 1845 to Now is a 2016-17 exhibit at the Amon Carter Museum, which "...brings together more than 70 photographs drawn from the Amon Carter's permanent collection. Spanning the history of the medium, the works reflect the diversity of photographic practices in the United States that grew along with the country's industrial development beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Covering 170 years of photography's history, from unique daguerreotype portraits to large-scale contemporary works, the exhibition provides a glance at photography's central role in recording the people, places, and events that have come to define the United States." Article includes link to 20-page guide to the photographic process. Accessed 11/16

East of the Mississippi: Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Photography is a 2017 exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art https://noma.org which says: "This landmark exhibition is the first to exclusively explore a vivid chapter of America's photographic history -- nineteenth-century American landscape photography made east of the Mississippi River."  Also see press release Accessed 12/17

Frame by Frame: Photographic Series and Portfolios from the Collection, an exhibit held at the Addison Gallery, Phillips Academy February 2 - April 14, 2013, Accessed August, 2015.

In Time We Shall Know Ourselves: Photographs by Raymond Smith is a 2018 exhibit at the Huntington Museum of Art which says: "In the summer of 1974, Ray Smith set out from New Haven, Connecticut, with a friend and two medium-format, twin-lens cameras to see and photograph America. They traveled in a VW Beetle for six weeks until the car broke down in Kansas City. Smith then returned home and took a job taking photographs of students around the country for their campus identification cards. Between assignments and during breaks he continued photographing for this project through September."  Also see touring info with thumbnail photos. Accessed 2/18

It's Only a Paper Moon: Souvenir Photography in America, 1870-1950 is a 2017 exhibit at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum which says: "Shortly after the invention of photography in the mid 19th century, tourists began documenting their travels with souvenir photo portraits. Photo studios were hugely popular attractions at state fairs, carnivals, and downtown arcades. Printed on penny postcards these images were mailed across the country to family and friends." Accessed 3/17

The Logic of the Copy: Four Decades of Photography in Print  is a 2017 exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum which says: "The Logic of the Copy: Four Decades of Photography in Print spans the period from 1960 through the early 2000s and highlights the influence of artists as diverse as Robert Heinecken, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, James Turrell, and Tacita Dean who began to integrate photography with text and the graphic arts.  Also see press release  Accessed 1/18

The Metropolitan Museum of Art website section Timeline of Art History includes

Accessed August, 2015.

Paper Promises: Early American Photography is a 2018 exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Museum which says: "This exhibition explores the formative years of photography in nineteenth-century America. Featuring rare photographs and negatives as well as iconic images from the Gold Rush and Civil War, it traces early experimentation with photography on paper. The show also reveals how photographic reproduction helped shape perceptions of the United States during a critical period of political tension and territorial expansion." Also see press release  Accessed 3/18

The People's America: Selections from the Henry Holmes Smith Archive, an online exhibit from the Indiana University Art Museum. Includes artist biographies. Accessed February, 2015.

Polaroids: Personal, Private, Painterly:  Photographs from the Collection of Robert E. Jackson is a 2018 exhibit at the Bellevue Art Museum which says: "For over two decades, Seattle-based Robert E. Jackson has been a serious collector of mass popular photography and photographic ephemera."  Accessed 11/18

Pulitzer Prize Photographs is a 2019 exhibit at the Gilcrease Museum which says: "Pulitzer Prize Photographs, from the Newseum in Washington D.C., brings history to life with the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever assembled, with images of every prize-winning entry dating back to 1942, when the award was first presented."   Accessed 5/19

Reframing America: Photography through the Eyes of Immigrants, an educator's guide from the Center for Creative Photography. Includes biographical information on artists who came to America between 1920-1950. Accessed August, 2015.

Technique and Vision: A Snapshot of Photography's Evolution is a 2017 exhibit at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts which says: "Selections from the permanent collection of the Museum will illustrate the development of photography and illuminate the tools and techniques photographers have used to express their artistic visions." Accessed 5/17

Vantage Points: Contemporary Photography from the Whitney Museum of American Art is a 2021 exhibit at the Taubman Museum of Art which says: "Organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, this exhibition features a selection of photographic works from the 1970s to the mid-2000s that highlights how photography has been used to represent individuals, places, and narratives. Drawn exclusively from the Whitney's permanent collection, this presentation includes approximately twenty artists, including Diane Arbus, Gregory Crewdson, William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Peter Hujar, Lyle Ashton Harris, Robert Mapplethorpe, Lorna Simpson, Andy Warhol, and Carrie Mae Weems." Accessed 9/21

You Are Here: A Brief History of Photography and Place is a 2019 exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art which says: You Are Here both embraces and challenges the photograph's role as a faithful record of place, examining photography's successes and failures in rendering, and sharing, fragments of the world. With an array of more than seventy illuminating photographs-some of which are on view for the first time-this exhibition traces a history of photography and place from the origins of the medium to the present, considering photography's visual and material characteristics along the way" Accessed 7/19

 

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