The Daguerreotype’s Famous. Why Not the Calotype?
William Henry Fox Talbot’s obsession with protecting his pioneering photographic process doomed his reputation and reduced his legacy to historical footnote.
Kwame Brathwaite Showed the World that Black is Beautiful
Photographing everyone from musicians to athletes to the person on the street, Brathwaite found the beauty in Blackness and shared it with the world.
Lee Miller, More than a Model
Miller photographed the chaos of war’s end in Europe, documenting major battles, the liberation of Paris, and the horrors of Dachau and Buchenwald.
The Adventurous Life and Mysterious Death of Frank Lenz
In 1892, the master cyclist set out to tour the world on wheels. A few months later, he disappeared, never to be heard from again. What happened to Frank Lenz?
Exploring Images In (and Out of) Context
When you think you understand an image, ask yourself what contextual information might be missing.
J. B. Jackson and the Ordinary American Landscape
Jackson’s creative mind analyzed the landscapes of everyday life to understand the modest worlds—present and past—of regular people.
Cultivating the Art of Slow Looking
When we examine the subject, foreground, and background of an image separately, the nuances of the scene emerge.
Challenging Race and Gender Roles, One Photo at a Time
Florestine Perrault Collins escaped the bounds of prescribed gender roles and racial segregation to run a successful photography studio in 1920s New Orleans.
Not Mathew Brady: The Civil War Photos of Andrew J. Russell
Will the real Civil War photographer please stand up?
Introducing “Archives Unbound”
In her new column, Dorothy Berry offers an inside look at the work of the digital archivist, while highlighting forgotten figures in Black print culture and public life.