Past Exhibition

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

The image is a collage of twelve circular photographs, each featuring different scenes from a picnic in 1889. In the top row, the first photograph displays an outdoor setting with a horse-drawn carriage and a group of people. The second and third photographs show individuals framed within a porch area; one is sitting upright while the other is lounging on a chair. Moving to the middle row, group scenes feature women and men in outdoor, grassy areas, with women wearing long white dresses and wide-brimmed hats, typical of late 19th-century fashion. The men are sporting hats and dark suits. The backgrounds depict open fields with clear skies. The bottom row includes people engaging in outdoor activities, such as riding a bicycle and climbing over a wooden fence. The countryside provides a serene backdrop for these activities.
American 19th Century, Charles Walter Amory family album, 1888-1897, bound volume of gelatin silver and albumen silver prints, Gift of Robert E. Jackson, 2006.161.7

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building, Ground Floor, Inner Tier Galleries G30 through G34
The image is a collage of twelve circular photographs, each featuring different scenes from a picnic in 1889. In the top row, the first photograph displays an outdoor setting with a horse-drawn carriage and a group of people. The second and third photographs show individuals framed within a porch area; one is sitting upright while the other is lounging on a chair. Moving to the middle row, group scenes feature women and men in outdoor, grassy areas, with women wearing long white dresses and wide-brimmed hats, typical of late 19th-century fashion. The men are sporting hats and dark suits. The backgrounds depict open fields with clear skies. The bottom row includes people engaging in outdoor activities, such as riding a bicycle and climbing over a wooden fence. The countryside provides a serene backdrop for these activities.
American 19th Century, Charles Walter Amory family album, 1888-1897, bound volume of gelatin silver and albumen silver prints, Gift of Robert E. Jackson, 2006.161.7

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.

Organization: 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.

Sponsor: 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

Catalog: 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.

Other Venues:

  • Amon Carter Museum, 02/16/2008–04/27/2008

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