Collection Spotlight: Women Photographers
This exhibition showcases work by ten women photographers in the Museum’s collection, with a focus on their use of the figure as an expressive and narrative device. Working from the era of the first cameras with roll film in the 1890s to large format film and alternative processes in the digital age, they created a rich array of work ranging from posed portraits to elaborately composed scenes.
The earliest photographers on view, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Mathilde Weil, and Emilie V. Clarkson, faced numerous challenges in a male-dominated art world, yet still earned respect and critical attention in their field. All three women were featured in the American Pictorial Photography portfolios curated by the influential photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz for Camera Notes. Johnston with a soft-focus portrait of a woman in a plumed hat, Weil with an elegant studio portrait, and Clarkson with a historical recreation of a woman at a spinning wheel. Working in the mid-twentieth century, Barbara Morgan is best known for capturing the energy and drama of modern dance, which was becoming a distinct genre in the 1930s and 40s. She is represented here with one image portraying the iconic dance pioneer Martha Graham with Erick Hawkins and another of dancer and choreographer José Limón.
The exhibition celebrates a number of new acquisitions to the Museum’s large photography collection, including color photographs by Suda House and Mary Frey. Fabricating imaginary settings, House styles her models as goddesses in plastic pools surrounded by their mythological attributes, while Frey memorializes the deeply personal moment of her son holding her dying mother. Also included in this exhibition are portraits and figural compositions by Kenda North, Bonnie Schiffman, Melanie Walker, and Nancy Webber, all on view in the Museum’s galleries for the first time.
Featured Artists
Emilie V. Clarkson • Mary Frey • Suda House • Frances Benjamin Johnston • Barbara Morgan • Kenda North • Bonnie Schiffman • Melanie Walker • Nancy Webber • Mathilde Weil
The exhibition is curated by Victoria McKenna-Ratjen, Curatorial Assistant.
Suda House (American, b. 1951). Diana, 1986. From the Aqueous Myths series. Lightjet Fuji Crystal Archive print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.3.2). Photo: Courtesy of the artist. © Suda House.
Selected objects
Mathilde Weil (American, 1872–1942). Beatrice, 1899. Photogravure from American Pictorial Photography Series One, published for Camera Notes (edition of 150). Collection of the Hudson River Museum (75.0.1706.12).
Frances Benjamin Johnston (American, 1864–1952). Gainsborough Girl, 1899. Photogravure from American Pictorial Photography Series One, published for Camera Notes (edition of 150). Gift of Mrs. Erik Kaeyer, 1975 (75.29.38).
Emilie V. Clarkson (American, 1863–1946). Spinning, 1901. Photogravure from American Pictorial Photography Series Two, published for Camera Notes (edition of 150). Collection of the Hudson River Museum (75.0.1701.12).
Barbara Morgan (American, 1900–1992). Martha Graham—American Document (“Puritan Love Duet” with Erick Hawkins), 1938, printed ca. 1980. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Lloyd and Janet Morgan, 1984 (84.30.1). Barbara and Willard Morgan photographs and papers, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Barbara Morgan (American, 1900–1992). José Limón—Mexican Suite, 1944, printed ca. 1980. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Lloyd and Janet Morgan, 1984 (84.30.23). Barbara and Willard Morgan photographs and papers, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Bonnie Schiffman (American, b. 1950). Herbie Hancock, 1980, printed 2021. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.6.2).
Bonnie Schiffman (American, b. 1950). Muhammad Ali, 1982, printed 2020. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.6.3).
Nancy Webber (American, b. 1937). Proserpine, Dante Gabriel Rossetti—Elizabeth Mellen, 1982. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.8.1). © Nancy Webber.
Bonnie Schiffman (American, b. 1950). Alice Walker and Quincy Jones, 1985, printed 2020. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.6.1).
Suda House (American, b. 1951). Juno Lucia, 1985. From the Aqueous Myths series. Lightjet Fuji Crystal Archive print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.3.1). © Suda House.
Suda House (American, b. 1951). Diana, 1986. From the Aqueous Myths series. Lightjet Fuji Crystal Archive print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.3.2). © Suda House.
Nancy Webber (American, b. 1937). Woman in the Cafe Tambourin, Vincent Van Gogh—Mark Stellar, 1987. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.8.2). © Nancy Webber.
Melanie Walker (American, b. 1949). MisUnderstood, 1992, printed 2019. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.7.1).
Melanie Walker (American, b. 1949). MisAllegiance, 1992, printed 2019. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.7.3).
Nancy Webber (American, b. 1937). A Bathing Place, George Seurat—David Krueger, 1998. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.8.3). © Nancy Webber.
Mary Frey (American, b. 1948). My Mother, My Son, 2004. Chromogenic print. Gift of the artist, 2021 (2021.3). © Mary Frey.
Kenda North (American, b. 1951). Girl with Violin, 2006. #136 from the Urban Pools series. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.4.1). Recent acquisition. © Kenda North.
Kenda North (American, b. 1951). Red Shoes, 2006. #179 from the Urban Pools series. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2020 (2020.4.2). Recent acquisition. © Kenda North.
