The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown has opened a new major exhibition of 100 works by nearly 40 photographers that draws mostly from its own collection of local photography.
On view through Aug. 15, “Through the Lens: Modern Photography in the Delaware Valley” explores nearly 70 years of “artistic experimentations with photographic processes and subject matter.”
The exhibition includes many works in the Michener’s collection that have never before been on view, including late prints by the modernist Charles Sheeler – “whose time in Doylestown cemented his dedication to the medium” – and aerial views of industrial sites by Newtown-based photographer Emmett Gowin. It also includes loans from contemporary photographers of color.
“The Michener has had a deep relationship with photography since its inception,” said the Michener’s Curator of American Art Laura Turner Igoe, who curated this exhibition with Curatorial Assistant Tara Kaufman.
Former museum directors include photographers Bruce Katsiff and Brian Peterson, who each have two pieces included in the show.
The exhibition is organized through the themes of form, figure, landscape, community, and social and political activism.
In addition to Sheeler and Gowin, the exhibition includes works by Tom Baril, Paula Chamlee, Edmund Eckstein, Susan Fenton, David Graham, Diane Levell, Martha Madigan, Ray Metzger, Tim Portlock, Jack Rosen, Thomas Shillea, and Michael A. Smith.
“All have ties to the area,” Igoe said, including some who only passed through it.
Exhibition curators have also borrowed works by Donald E. Camp, Maria Dumlao, Ada Trillo and William Earle Williams that explore issues of race, identity, and social and environmental justice in order to connect the museum’s historic images with contemporary concerns.
For information, visit MichenerArtMuseum.org or call 215-340-9800.
jarthur@buckscountyherald.com
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