Peter A. Juley & Son Collection

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The Peter A. Juley & Son Collection at the Smithsonian American Art Museum is comprised of 127,000 black and white photographic negatives documenting the works of more than 11,000 American artists. Peter A. Juley (1862-1937) came to the United States in 1888 from the small German town of Alf, where he was a telegrapher with the post office. How he first became interested in photography and fine arts is not known, but around 1896 he opened a small portrait studio in Cold Spring, New York. In 1905, he relocated his photography business to New York City, where his son Paul P. Juley (1890-1975) joined as a partner in the firm.
For over seventy years, the Juleys operated largest and most respected fine arts photography firm in New York City. Their clients included major artists, galleries, museums, and private collectors of the period. Acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1975, the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection constitutes a unique visual record of American art sometimes providing the only photographic documentation of altered, damaged, or lost works. Included in the collection are over 4,700 photographic portraits of artists.

Additional highlights from the Juley collection can be seen at: http://sirismm.si.edu/siris/julquickstar t.htm.

For more information on the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s photograph archive holdings see: http://www.americanart.si.edu/research/p rograms/archive/.

To learn more about the Smithsonian and photography, visit THE BIGGER PICTURE.

37 photos | 1,901 views

items are from between 05 Nov 2004 & 19 May 2009.