National Gallery of Art - EXHIBITIONS

Past Exhibitions

The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888–1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson

October 7–December 31, 2007

Overview: 249 images by unknown photographers were shown in this survey of snapshots from the time the Kodak camera and roll film were introduced in 1888 through the 1970s. Works in the exhibition were selected from the collection of Robert E. Jackson and from his recent gifts to the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition was organized chronologically.

Exhibition curator Sarah Greenough and collector Robert E. Jackson discussed the exhibition in an auditorium program on October 14. A public symposium was held on November 10. The documentary film Other People’s Pictures, by Lorca Sheppard and Cabot Philbrick, was shown in October and November.

The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs, and Diane Waggoner, assistant curator of photographs, National Gallery of Art, were the curators. The exhibition was supported by the Trellis Fund and The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation. The catalogue was published with the assistance of The Getty Foundation.

Attendance: 52,165 (85 days)

Location: West Building, Ground Floor, Inner Tier Galleries G30 through G34

Catalogue: The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888–1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson, by Sarah Greenough and Dianne Waggoner with Sarah Kennel and Matthew S. Witkovsky. Washington DC: National Gallery of Art, in association with Princeton University Press, 2007.

Web site: An interactive exhibition feature presenting text and photographs from the installation; and NGA Arttalk recordings of curator Sarah Greenough interviewing Robert E. Jackson about snapshot collecting, and of Barbara Tempchin interviewing Greenough about amateur photography. Related Online Resources

Other venues:
Amon Carter Museum
February 16–April 27, 2008

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