This selection of photographs from the Museum’s collection features landscapes dating from the earliest years of the medium to the present, demonstrating some of the many ways that people have produced pictures over the years. Since photography’s introduction to the public in 1839, creators and viewers alike have celebrated photographic interpretations of the landscape.
From daguerreotypes to gelatin silver prints, to today’s digital captures printed with ink, the history of photography is marked by rapid advances in equipment and chemical processes, confirming the ongoing relationship between the photographic arts and technology. Yet many aspects of photography’s scientific and aesthetic past remain in play today. This gallery contains daguerreotypes, the earliest viable photographs, made in the 1840s as well as the 2010s.
While the landscape photographs on view here were made to capture the beauty of the natural world, some also point to critical issues such as misuse of resources and concern for the environment, as well as hidden histories. Regardless of their original purpose, the landscapes on view here tie photography to the great tradition of depicting the landscape artistically.
Supporter
