Photography Collection
The Photography collection encompasses the medium’s entire history, from 1839 to the present. It grew from a holding of 1,015 primarily American works to a collection of more than 7,000 with the acquisition in 2006 of the famed Hallmark Photographic Collection, one of the finest private collections of American photography ever assembled.
Read more about the Photography Collection
Notable artists represented in the collection include such prominent 19th-century figures as Southworth & Hawes, Mathew Brady, George N. Barnard, Carleton Watkins and Edweard Muybridge; and such leading 20th-century names as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Harry Callahan, Robert Frank, W. Eugene Smith, Diane Arbus and many more.
In the Photography galleries, a survey of the history of photography will be on view at all times, with changes made to the overall selection on a regular basis. Small-scale temporary exhibitions will also be presented three to four times a year.
The Hallmark Photographic Collection
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art acquired the Hallmark Photographic Collection in January 2006, through a combination gift and purchase. Primarily American in the scope of its holdings, the collection spans the entire history of photography, from the birth of the medium in 1839 to the present. At the time of its acquisition by the Museum, it included more than 6,500 works by 900 artists, with superb examples by virtually all the key American photographers in history.
With this acquisition, the Nelson-Atkins takes its place as one of the premier museums in the world for photography.
Photography Exhibitions and Programs
In the Public Eye: Photography and Fame
Human/Nature: Recent European Landscape Photography (opens June 28)
Restoration: Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (opens Oct. 11)
The Photography Society
In response to a strong expression of community interest, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has recently established a new special interest group, The Photography Society.
Find out more information and how to join the Photography Society.
Publications
For more on works included in the Photography collection, please see the following publications:
The Origins of American Photography, From Daguerreotype to Dry-Plate, 1839-1885, by Keith F. Davis (HFF/NAMA, 2007).
An American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital - The Hallmark Photographic Collection, by Keith F. Davis (Hallmark Cards, Inc., in association with Harry N. Abrams, 1999).
Clarence John Laughlin: Visionary Photographer, edited by Keith F. Davis, with contributions by Nancy C. Barrett and John H. Lawrence (Hallmark Cards, Inc., 1990).
George N. Barnard: Photographer of Sherman's Campaign, by Keith F. Davis (Hallmark Cards, Inc., 1990).
The Passionate Observer: Photographs by Carl Van Vechten, by Keith F. Davis (Hallmark Cards, Inc., 1993).
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange, by Keith F. Davis, with contributions by Kelle A. Botkin (Hallmark Cards, Inc., in association with Harry N. Abrams, 1995).