photography

A Historian of Photographic Defacement in the USSR Faces His Own Erasure

by Olga Shevchenko

Like the human rights group Memorial, photographic historian Denis Skopin has run afoul of the Russian state for his efforts to preserve knowledge of Soviet abuses of human rights and historical memory.

The US Government Hired Dorothea Lange to Document the Japanese Internment, then Censored Her Photos

The War Relocation Authority hired Lange and Ansel Adams, hoping to polish the public image of internment. Lange's photos, which revealed the harsh conditions of camps and the human tragedy of removal from homes and neighborhoods, were shelved. 

Stephen Shames's Photos Document the Lives and Activism of Black Panther Party Women

As a college student, Shames built trust with the members of the BPP and documented their activism. Now, working with former member Ericka Huggins, a book of those photos preserves the history. 

Baldwin Lee's Rediscovered Photos Deepen Understanding of the South

Many white photographers documented the south with a paternalistic frame on their Black subjects. The New York-born son of Chinese immigrants, Lee proceeded from the premise that he knew nothing about the post-Jim Crow South and had to learn. 

Collection of Pet Photos Shows the Changing and Enduring Relationship of People and Dogs

Anthony Cavo's collection of photographs shows the changing relationships of people and their pets, as well as the changing technology of photography. 

A Lost Archive of DC Life at Midcentury

Rescued from a dumpster minutes before the arrival of the garbage truck, Ray Honda's photographs captured DC at the dawn of the civil rights era and the vibrant Black culture of the city. 

The Second Destruction of Tulsa's Black Community

by Karlos K. Hill

Photographer Donald Thompson has set out to capture a visual history of Tulsa's Greenwood district, an African American community decimated first by the 1921 race massacre and then by urban renewal in the 1970s. Historian Karlos Hill interviews him about his work. 

Gordon Parks's Photos Show the Labor Keeping Weapons of World War II Greased

Gordon Parks's photographs showed the humanity of the workers in the nation's massive war mobilization, notably at a Pittsburgh grease plant. 

How Journalists Decide What War Photos are Too Awful to Publish

The publication of war photos has long involved a balance between public information, respect for the dignity of the dead, and the politic of information in wartime. 

Black People at Work, Play and Rest are a Picture of American Democracy

Smithsonian NMAAHC curator Aaron Bryant talks about photographs that tell untold stories about American history and life. 

Met Acquires Landmark Photo Archive of NY Black Life

“[James Van Der Zee] is a central figure, a significant artist, in telling the story of people of African descent,” said Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum. “The photographs are testaments to beauty and power, and he captured the Harlem community and the African American community in all its possibilities.”

Doris Derby’s Searing, Intimate Photos of the Civil Rights Movement

Doris Derby didn’t just chronicle the movement with her camera; she also actively contributed to its causes.

A Met Exhibition on Women in Photography Shows All Achievements by Women Don't Need to be Celebrated

by Kelly Midori McCormick

Why did the Metropolitan Museum use a photo of the imperialist Japanese photographer Sasamoto Tsuneko as an exemplar of women's achievements in the medium? 

Portrait of the Artist as a Businesswoman: Dorothea Lange’s Lost San Francisco Years

by Jasmin Darznik

Dorothea Lange's early work as a portrait photographer for San Francisco's elite seems at odds with her famous documentary work of the Depression. But that work sharpened her sense of aesthetics and of her own place in the world, foundations of her more famous later period.

The Captive Photograph

by Ariella Azoulay

The taking of photographs of enslaved people by Harvard scientist Louis Agassiz, and the university's continued ownership of those images, constitute a crime against humanity, argues a theorist and historian of visual culture. The images demand an ethic of care to replace an ethic of ownership, which is a model for restorative justice for slavery.

The Ongoing Battle over Photographs of the Enslaved at Harvard

Tamara Lanier has continued to fight Harvard over the ownership of photos of her enslaved ancestors, which were commissioned by the influential race scientist Louis Agassiz.

Comparing Images of Helicopters Leaving Saigon and Kabul is Too Simplistic

Post Art and Architecture columnist Philip Kennicott examines the history and politics of famous images from 1975 and this week that have been put in dialogue with each other.

The Photographers Who Captured the Great Depression

Intended as a promotional program for New Deal agricultural programs, the Farm Security Adminstration's sponsorship of Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and other photographers sparked an aesthetic revolution. 

How the 'New Woman' Blazed a Trail of Empowerment

A new retrospective examines the artistic production of women at the intersections of new photographic technology and rising currents of racism and antisemitism in early 20th-century Europe. 

How the George Floyd Uprising Was Framed for White Eyes

Some of the most iconic news photographs of the Civil Rights Movement told a particular story to white liberals – that Black protesters were passive victims needing their help, instead of actively fighting for freedom. Those photos today help define the mainstream limits of "acceptable" protest.