American Photography

The visual narrative of the modern United States: from canonical photography by Robert Frank and Diane Arbus to vernacular picture postcards and magazine spreads

Since its invention in 1839, photography has become deeply embedded in American society. American Photography captures this phenomenon through over 280 images, portraying American life through the lenses of renowned photographers such as Nan Goldin, Dawoud Bey and Paul Strand. The catalog begins with selected images from perhaps the most famous photo essay on American life, Robert Frank's The Americans (1958). It then moves beyond the classical canon to offer a striking selection of vernacular photography: vintage magazine advertisements for Coca-Cola and Cadillac; family albums; postcards; and album covers. These examples are integrated seamlessly among the more well-known images until any supposed distinction between "high art" and "low culture" is erased. This story of American photography is told through the outstanding collection of the Rijksmuseum, enriched by loans from US institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington.