A new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC celebrates the history of American photography from its birth in 1839 to the 20th century. The exhibition will feature more than 250 photographs from the Museum’s William L. Schaeffer Collection. Works on view by luminaries like Josiah Johnson Hawes, John Moran, Carleton E. Watkins and Alice Austen along with unknown, amateur picture takers from small towns and cities across the country. The show explores the shift and immediate success photography enjoyed as a cultural, commercial and artistic endeavor.
Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer, said of the work, “Through an impressive array of 19th- and early 20th-century images that capture the complexities of a nation in the midst of profound transformation, this exhibition offers something new even for those well-versed in the history of photography.” Hollein continued, “We can study and celebrate these formerly hidden treasures by hundreds of both known and unknown makers finally ready for their close-ups. Our hope is to give these works their rightful place in the ever-expanding history of the medium.”
William L. Schaeffer, a private collector and dealer assembled the collection of photos over the last 50 years. Included are photographs in pristine condition from the medium’s early development. In 1839 the introduction of photography to the world transformed culture as we know it. It came at a time when other inventions were making an impact as well. Steam locomotive trains and steamships shortened the distance between coasts and countries, while the electric telegraph made communication between others close at hand. People were craving things to illustrate words and bring to life the news of the day popularized by libraries, newspapers and books. Ralph Waldo Emerson noted of the time, “Our age is ocular.”
The exhibition comprises three galleries in the museum. What viewers will witness is a study of America’s growth and ever-changing landscape. The New Art illustrates what photography looked like for average working-class citizens as well as those considered well-to-do. Rural areas, suburban cities, farmland, storefronts, skyscrapers, slavery, cornfields and the plains are all documented throughout the exhibition. It’s a study of a nation shaping and shifting its story over time. What’s captured are photographs in many different forms. From daguerreotypes and tintypes to paper prints, William L. Schaeffer’s collection provides a true view of our country’s history.
The New Art will also showcase a selection of cameras from the 19th Century, made possible by Eric Taubman and the Penumbra Foundation.
Elizabeth Hazard
The New Art : American Photography, 1839–1910
April 11–July 20, 2025
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 5th Ave.
New York, NY 10028
www.metmuseum.org
