The image shows a group of men standing in a tunnel or mine shaft. The upper half of their bodies is visible, with several standing in the foreground and others in the background. The men are wearing headlamps on their helmets, illuminating their soot-covered faces. Some of the men have short-cropped hair visible beneath their helmets. They are dressed in rugged, dust-stained work clothes suitable for mining, such as overalls and jackets. One man in the front holds a mining drill, while another holds a tin canister. A metal structure is visible in the background, indicating a mining operation setting, with dark and industrial surroundings.
Jack Delano, Anthracite Coal Mine Near Pottsville, Pennsylvania, 1938, gelatin silver print, Gift of the UBS Art Collection, 2023.30.53

Current Exhibition

Beneath the Surface

Mining and American Photography

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building

    West Building Main Floor, Gallery M74

  • Ticketing Information

    Admission is always free and passes are not required

Nearly two centuries of American photographs bear witness to the people and places that power our lives.

Since their inception, photographs have documented mining, drilling, and fracking—industries that often happen underground or out of sight. They reveal how we extract resources from the earth and the impact on people and our planet.  

Beneath the Surface explores how photographers in the United States have depicted resource extraction for 185 years. Some 150 photographs highlight the variety of approaches and motivations behind their creation, including works by contemporary artists. 

Selected works

The image contains an assortment of vertical and diagonal lines forming an abstract composition. A fluid, swirling shape resembling a human dancer is depicted alongside silhouetted oil pump jacks below. The dancer's dynamic posture and flowing garment suggest the motion of a sea creature moving through a current.

Cara Romero, Oil Boom, 2015, printed 2023, inkjet print, Gift of Funds from Renée Harbers Liddell, 2024.45.2. © Cara Romero. All rights reserved.

American 19th Century, Portrait of a California gold miner with pick and shovel, c. 1855, daguerreotype with applied color, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (Gift of the Hall Family Foundation) 2017.68.279.

Edward Weston, Gulf Oil–Pt. Arthur, 1941, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. © 1981 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents. All rights reserved.

Richard Avedon, Tom Stroud, oil field worker, Velma, Oklahoma, June 12, 1980, 1980, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. © The Richard Avedon Foundation

David Maisel, American Mine, Carlin, Nevada 1, 2007, printed 2024, inkjet print, Collection of Amy and Tony D'Orazio. © David Maisel. All rights reserved. 

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Curated by Diane Waggoner, acting head and curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, and Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Other venues
Milwaukee Art Museum, October 23, 2026–January 18, 2027  
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, February 14–May 9, 2027 

Sponsors
Major support for the exhibition has been provided by the Center for Contemporary Documentation.

The exhibition is also made possible through the leadership support of the Trellis Charitable Fund.

Additional support for this exhibition was provided by Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman. 

Events See All

Results

Films:  Giant

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Registration Required

Films:  Kameradschaft and Oil: A Symphony in Motion 

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Registration Required

Films:  Harlan County, USA

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Registration Required

Films:  The Miners' Hymns and Louisiana Story

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Registration Required

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