First published in France in 1958 and in the United States in 1959, Robert Frank's The Americans is widely celebrated as the most important photography book since World War II. Including 83 photographs made largely in 1955 and 1956 while Frank (b. 1924) traveled around the United States, the book looked beneath the surface of American life to reveal a profound sense of alienation, angst, and loneliness. With these prophetic photographs, Frank redefined the icons of America, noting that cars, jukeboxes, gas stations, diners, and even the road itself were telling symbols of contemporary life. Frank's style—seemingly loose, casual compositions, with often rough, blurred, out-of-focus foregrounds and tilted horizons—was just as controversial and influential as his subject matter. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the book's publication by presenting all 83 photographs from The Americans in the order established by the book, and by providing a detailed examination of the book's roots in Frank's earlier work, its construction, and its impact on his later art.
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art.
Sponsor: Access Industries is proud to be the principal sponsor of the exhibition.
The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the Trellis Fund.
Early support for research was provided by the Marlene Nathan Meyerson Family Foundation.
The exhibition catalogue is published with the assistance of The Getty Foundation.
Schedule: National Gallery of Art, January 18–April 26, 2009; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 16–August 23, 2009; Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 22–December 27, 2009
Passes: Passes are not required for this exhibition.
The exhibition will be on view in the West Building, Ground Floor, Outer tier
Reading the Modern Photography Book: Changing Perceptions
Held in conjunction with Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans," this exhibition examines the variety of artistic and thematic approaches to the modern photography book. More than simply a book containing photographs, the photography book is a publication composed by the careful sequencing and editing of photographic material. Often produced by a photographer, these books present visual narratives through creative page design, often integrating photographs with text and graphic elements.
Spanning the period from the late 1920s to the early 1970s, this focus exhibition organizes twenty-one books drawn from the Gallery's library into four themes: "New Visions," "Documented Realities," "Postwar Scenes," and "Conceptual Practices." It highlights diverse projects from individual photographers such as László Moholy-Nagy, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Yasuhiro Ishimoto as well as collaborative projects from the Hungarian Work Circle (Munka Kör) and Andy Warhol's Factory, revealing that the photography book is both a significant conveyer of contemporary experience and a witness to historical events.
Exhibition Brochure (PDF 436k)
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art.
Schedule: National Gallery of Art, January 18–April 26, 2009
Passes: Passes are not required for this exhibition.
The exhibition will be on view in the West Building, Ground Floor, Gallery 21