Highlights from the Photography Collection
The Photography Collection at The Nelson-Atkins encompasses the full history of the medium, from 1839 to the present. A diverse selection of works celebrating our rich holdings, from daguerreotypes to digitally composed photographs, will be on view in our photography galleries.
Since photography鈥檚 invention around 1839, photographers have used the camera for artistic expression, documentation, and scientific study. Though its technology and techniques have changed throughout history, photography has remained our most prolific means for engaging with the world. As an art form, photographs express personal ideas and emotions, and explore new ways of seeing. Photographs have shaped our cultures and our collective memories, at times calling attention to social injustices and history鈥檚 omissions. Foremost, photography has allowed us to better understand our complex histories and our place in time.
Recommended for you
The Photography Collection at The Nelson-Atkins encompasses the full history of the medium, from 1839 to the present. A diverse selection of works celebrating our rich holdings, from daguerreotypes to digitally composed photographs, will be on view in our photography galleries.
Since photography鈥檚 invention around 1839, photographers have used the camera for artistic expression, documentation, and scientific study. Though its technology and techniques have changed throughout history, photography has remained our most prolific means for engaging with the world. As an art form, photographs express personal ideas and emotions, and explore new ways of seeing. Photographs have shaped our cultures and our collective memories, at times calling attention to social injustices and history鈥檚 omissions. Foremost, photography has allowed us to better understand our complex histories and our place in time.
Artists on show
- Alejandro Cartagena
- Alice Austen
- Andrew Joseph Russell
- An-My Lê
- Bryon Darby
- Dorothea Lange
- Gustave le Gray
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- Ilse Bing
- Irving Penn
- Jess T. Dugan
- Kozo Miyoshi
- Lee Friedlander
- Lynne Cohen
- Manuel Álvarez Bravo
- Richard Avedon
- Robbert Flick
- Sage Sohier
- Trevor Paglen
- William Earle Williams
- William Eggleston
- William Henry Jackson
- William Klein
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