Made in America 1900-1950. Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada

It took me over one month but I finally made it to the photographs exhibition at the National Gallery (NGC). “Made in America 1900-1950” belongs to a series of exhibitions that has shown 19th-century British and 19th-century French photographs in the recent years. Now the first half of the 20th century American photography has its turn… and it turned out very well.

The exhibition at the second floor shows just over 100 photographs, and follows the approach to present both photography as art and documentary. This clearly lies in the nature of the show, presenting American photography in the first half of the 20th century which of course includes art and documentation – just thinking about names like Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Berenice Abbott, Lisette Model, and Weegee. And it lies in the nature of photography; so this approach is not entirely new. It even might leave some of the visitors a bit wondering about the combination of these photographs that follow so different approaches. (Still, regardless of the discussion about photography as art and its place in museums that seems to be obsolete by now!) But on the other hand, the exhibition gives an excellent overview about the development of American photography and its most famous photographers – and it shows amazing vintage prints that we all have seen in textbooks about this era.

The exhibition starts with Pictorialism of the first two decades of the early 20th century. In particular Gertrude Käsebier’s romantic gum bichromate prints (one shows Edward Steichen standing beside her sister and friends) caught my attention. The photographs clearly show the Pictorialist aim to advance the status of photography as a true art form. But it left me wondering, why the curators decided to NOT include photographs of the 19th century in the exhibition (after all, the Pictorialist movement started in the late 19th century and not strictly with the year 1900).

Furthermore of interest: The NGC designed the first two rooms of the exhibit in homage to Alfred Stieglitz’ Gallery 291 with its distinctive look: with muted green walls, dim lights and curtains hanging low from wooden chair rails. The second room shows stunning portraits by Stieglitz, Edward Steichen and Frank Eugene etc.

The exhibition also shows photographs by the Group f/64 that followed a modernist aesthetic in opposition to Pictorialism. Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham (I love her portrait of Frida Kahlo (1931)!) are represented with some of their most iconic photographs.

In the field of documentary, in particular Lewis Hine’s and Dorothea Lange’s works are worth to be mentioned. The NGC owns one of the best prints of Lange’s iconic “Migrant Mother” (1936) in which the baby’s face is visible. Also represented are photographs by Margaret Bourke-White, Berenice Abbott, Lisette Model, Weegee (I love the shot of the sleeping kids on the fire escape platform), Andreas Feininger, and the members of New York’s Photo League.

So, in case you are wondering why the exhibition stops at 1950: That’s because the NGC holds so much more interesting photographs from the following decades that they will get their own show. When, is not announced yet. I am already very curious to see works by Lee Friedlander and Diane Arbus then. And I am sure that this exhibition will be also worthwhile a visit – like this show is!

Facts:

Made in America 1900-1950. Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada

09 Dec 2011 - 01 Apr 2012

http://www.gallery.ca/madeinamerica/