Another Way of Telling

Women photographers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Above: Untitled (Child Feeding Pigeons), (c. 1930-1932). Photo by Ilse Bing. Gelatin silver print, Image and sheet: 6 15/16 x 8 9/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 125th Anniversary Acquisition.

BY: Sacia Friedman

See the myriad ways women have used the camera to capture lived experience.
In our current season of civil protest in which women are at the forefront, asserting their voices, it seems appropriate and timely to explore work by several generations of women photographers. On view in this exhibition are exceptional and rare photographs spanning the history of the medium, including examples by pioneers Diane Arbus, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Anne Brigman and contemporary artists Kelli Connell, Ann Parker, and Elaine Stocki.
In this diverse selection of pictures, women explore ideas about identity in and out of the studio, interrogate female roles in the domestic sphere, and disrupt perceptions of the world through street photography. By including over a dozen new acquisitions, this exhibition also demonstrates our ongoing efforts to more fully represent women artists in the collection and amplify their voices.

 

Jean Cocteau, 1939 (negative); c. 1970s (print). Photo by Gisèle Freund. Chromogenic print, Image: 11 7/8 x 9 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Jean Cocteau, (1939 negative); c. (1970s print). Photo by Gisèle Freund. Chromogenic print, Image: 11 7/8 x 9 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Ntombi II, (2014). Photo by Zanele Muholi. Gelatin silver print, Image/Sheet/Mount: 39 1/4 x 32 1/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Ntombi II, (2014). Photo by Zanele Muholi. Gelatin silver print, Image/Sheet/Mount: 39 1/4 x 32 1/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Call and I Follow, Let Me Die, (c. 1875). Photo by Julia Margaret Cameron. Carbon print, Image and sheet: 13 11/16 x 10 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1971.
Call and I Follow, Let Me Die, (c. 1875). Photo by Julia Margaret Cameron. Carbon print, Image and sheet: 13 11/16 x 10 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1971.

 

Camera Work 1, (January 1903). Photo edited by Alfred Stieglitz. Journal; text only, no photogravures, Cover (approx; irregular): 12 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of Carl Zigrosser, 1966. © The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Camera Work 1, (January 1903). Photo edited by Alfred Stieglitz. Journal; text only, no photogravures, Cover (approx; irregular): 12 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of Carl Zigrosser, 1966. © The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

 

Family Group, (c. 1910). Photo by Gertrude Käsebier. Platinum print, Image and sheet: 9 1/16 x 7 13/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of William Innes Homer, 1986. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Family Group, (c. 1910). Photo by Gertrude Käsebier. Platinum print, Image and sheet: 9 1/16 x 7 13/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of William Innes Homer, 1986. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Girl with Parasol, (1909). Photo by Ema Spencer. Photogravure, Image: 8 1/8 x 6 3/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1973.
Girl with Parasol, (1909). Photo by Ema Spencer. Photogravure, Image: 8 1/8 x 6 3/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1973.

 

Self-Portrait with Mask, (1922). Photo by Anne Brigman. Gelatin silver print, Image and sheet: 9 13/16 x 7 7/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 125th Anniversary Acquisition.
Self-Portrait with Mask, (1922). Photo by Anne Brigman. Gelatin silver print, Image and sheet: 9 13/16 x 7 7/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 125th Anniversary Acquisition.

 

People of the North Portal, (1970-1971). Photo by Barbara Crane. Gelatin silver print, Image: 10 9/16 x 7 3/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
People of the North Portal, (1970-1971). Photo by Barbara Crane. Gelatin silver print, Image: 10 9/16 x 7 3/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Walls, An American Place, New York, (1940s). Photo by Dorothy Norman. Gelatin silver print, Image/Sheet/Mount: 3 7/8 x 2 15/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1980.
Walls, An American Place, New York, (1940s). Photo by Dorothy Norman. Gelatin silver print, Image/Sheet/Mount: 3 7/8 x 2 15/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, From the Collection of Dorothy Norman, 1980.

 

Untitled, Pittsburgh, PA, (1991). Ming Smith, American, active late 20th - early 21st century. Gelatin silver print, Image: 18 5/16 x 12 1/2 inches. © Ming Smith.
Untitled, Pittsburgh, PA, (1991). Ming Smith, American, active late 20th – early 21st century. Gelatin silver print, Image: 18 5/16 x 12 1/2 inches. © Ming Smith.

 

The Valley, (2006). Photo by Kelli Connell. Chromogenic print, Sheet: 36 x 48 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Valley, (2006). Photo by Kelli Connell. Chromogenic print, Sheet: 36 x 48 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

Moon Watch, (2012). Photo by Sarah Charlesworth. Fuji Crystal Archive prints, mounted and laminated with lacquer frames, Overall: 41 1/16 x 62 1/8 x 1 15/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Moon Watch, (2012). Photo by Sarah Charlesworth. Fuji Crystal Archive prints, mounted and laminated with lacquer frames, Overall: 41 1/16 x 62 1/8 x 1 15/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

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