History of Photography Exhibitions
Shows in 2007 and 2008 Explore Medium's History and Subject Matter
Six museum exhibitions in 2007 and 2008 describe photography's history, subject matter and varied techniques from its origins through the 20th Century.
Photography's history and development are aptly described in six museum exhibitions that explore: remarkable 19th-century British images made from delicate paper negatives; the origins and significance of the Kodak camera and candid snapshots produced by its users; the importance of the nude as subject matter; and the relevance of shadow in the photographic technique.
Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840-1860
Some 120 works by 40 artists illustrate the history and process of creating photographs from rare negatives made of fine writing paper in Great Britain in the 19th Century. Their subject matter ranges from old trees, rocky landscapes and family gatherings to ancient Roman ruins, abbeys, medieval churches and exotic Indian temples.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY USA: September 25-December 31,2007
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. USA: February 3-May 4, 2008
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France: June 9–September 17, 2008
The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978
Approximately 200 anonymous works trace the development of American amateur photography from the invention of the Kodak camera in 1888 through the 1970s.
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. USA: October 7-December 31, 2007
- Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX USA: February 16-April 27, 2008
In Focus: The Nude
The exhibition surveys the nude in photography from the dawn of the medium through the 20th Century. Twenty-nine photographers are represented in this presentation, including Jean-Louis-Marie-Eugène Durieu (1800-1874), Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), Man Ray (1890-1976), Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976), Diane Arbus (1923-1971) and Chuck Close (b. 1940).
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA USA: October 9, 2007-February 24, 2008
The Other Side of Light: Shadows from the Photography Collection
More than 60 works on paper by Lee Friedlander (b. 1934), André Kertész (1894-1985) and Paul Strand (1890-1976), among others, explore the elusive role of shadow in photography.
- Art Institute of Chicago, IL USA: December 1, 2007-February 24, 2008
Ten Years in Focus: The Artist and the Camera
Images and photographic equipment acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in the last 10 years describe the "painterly" approach to the medium and the tools used to obtain that effect.
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA USA: March 25-August 10, 2008
Framing a Century: Master Photographers, 1840-1940
The artistic achievements of photography during its first century are celebrated with masterworks by Roger Fenton (1819-1869), Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884), Nadar (1820-1910), Eugène Atget (1857-1927), Walker Evans (1903-1975), Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), Man Ray (1890-1976) and Brassaï (1899-1984), among others.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY USA: June 3-September 1, 2008
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