In Actuality: Social Realism and Its Legacy from the Robert B. Menschel Collection

Following the advent of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, artists and critics alike struggled to make sense of this new technology and its place in the world of modern art.  Some photographers chose to experiment with chemical processes and lighting techniques in order to achieve more abstract and painterly images, resembling traditional forms of art. Others embraced the camera’s documentary function and championed stark reality as a subject.

This exhibition explores photographic works from the artistic movement known as social realism, popularized in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, through which artists captured frank and unembellished scenes of working-class life and industrialized spaces.

This exhibition has been organized in honor of Mr. Robert B. Menschel, ’51, H’91 and his philanthropic generosity resulting in the contribution of over 400 works of art since 1978. The images included in this display are drawn from his most recent gift in 2018, a selection of over 180 photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, representing the works of more than 75 artists.

IMPACT! The Photo League and Its Legacy

IMPACT! The Photo League and Its Legacy presents 35 black and white photographs by master photographers associated with league, a cooperative of both amateur and professional photographers founded in 1936.  The intent of the League was twofold: instruction on the art of photography, and a mission to put cameras in the hands of honest photographers with an intention to photograph America. The advisors, teachers, and students shared a commitment to social realism, specifically with the aim to produce visual images of working-class life.  From its beginning to its untimely closure in 1951, the league boasted almost 250 members, including Arthur Rothstein, Aaron Siskind, and Godfrey Frankel, as well as hosted a number of teachers, board of advisors, and special lecturers such as Ansel Adams, Berenice Abbott, Dorothea Lange, and Lewis Hine.

EXHIBITION CONTENTS:

35 original photographs
Curatorial essay and object labels
Exhibition brochure PDF

Installation Space: 150 linear feet

EXHIBITION FEE: $4000.00