George Eastman Museum Opens New History of Photography Gallery

Rochester, NY—The George Eastman Museum opened a new rotation in its History of Photography Gallery on October 14. This installation, curated by Jamie M. Allen, associate curator in the Department of Photography, uses the self-portrait to depict the history of photography.

Moreover, this rotation provides an overview of the history of photography through images that include photographers, photographic apparatus, and/or photographic objects.

Made by a wide range of photographers, the objects on view begin with John Moffat’s 1865 portrait of William Henry Fox Talbot. It culminates with Gillian Wearing’s 2013 work Me As Talbot, a self-portrait that mimics a portrayal of Talbot with his mousetrap camera. Curated by Jamie M. Allen, associate curator of photography, this installation depicts how photographers have referred to the medium, and to themselves, in their image making.

History of Photography Gallery Public Programming

This rotation in the History of Photography Gallery will remain on view through April 1, 2018. Public programming for the new rotation will also take place in the form of a Curator’s Gallery Tour. The tour will take place on Thursday, December 21, 2017 at 1 p.m. as well as on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 1 p.m.

Jamie Allen, associate curator, will lead the gallery tour of her selections for the current History of Photography rotation. The tour is free for museum members and is also included with admission to the museum.

George Eastman Photography Collection

The George Eastman Museum’s photography collection is among the most comprehensive in the world. With holdings that include objects ranging in date from the announcement of the medium’s invention in 1839 to the present day, the collection represents the full history of photography.

Works by renowned masters of the medium exist side by side with vernacular and scientific photographs. The collection also includes all applications of the medium, from artistic pursuit to commercial enterprise and from amateur pastime to documentary record. It also encompasses all types of photographic processes, from daguerreotypes to digital prints.

George Eastman Museum

Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum. It is also one of the largest film archives in the U.S. It is located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography.

Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films as well as the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology. Moreover, it houses one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema. Extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman are also included.

Furthermore, as a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program. In addition, through its two joint master’s degree programs with the University of Rochester, it makes critical contributions to the fields of film preservation and of photographic preservation and collection management. eastman.org