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.
The History of Postmortem Photography
Ever since the medium was invented, people have used photography to document loss.
Bird Watcher
Herbert Keightley Job's work represents a major turn in the study of birds. Instead of shooting them, he photographed them, at least some of the time...
The Photographers Who Captured the Great Depression
The Farm Security Administration had photographers fan out across the country to document agricultural conditions. But they brought back much more.
Vintage Circus Photos from the Sanger Circus Collection
In Victorian England, the circus appealed across an otherwise class-divided society, its audiences ranging from poor peddlers to prestigious public figures.