Photography

The millions of photographs in the Museum's collections compose a vast mosaic of the nation's history. Photographs accompany most artifact collections. Thousands of images document engineering projects, for example, and more record the steel, petroleum, and railroad industries.

Some 150,000 images capture the history, art, and science of photography. Nineteenth-century photography, from its initial development by W. H. F. Talbot and Louis Daguerre, is especially well represented and includes cased images, paper photographs, and apparatus. Glass stereographs and news-service negatives by the Underwood & Underwood firm document life in America between the 1890s and the 1930s. The history of amateur photography and photojournalism are preserved here, along with the work of 20th-century masters such as Richard Avedon and Edward Weston. Thousands of cameras and other equipment represent the technical and business side of the field.

Purple Hearts" series; handwritten on verso "Pfc. Randall Clunen, 19, of the 101st Airborne Division, was wounded December 8, 2003 in Tal Afar, Iraq when a suicide car bomber broke U.S. security lines. The explosion sent shrapnel into Clunen's face, neck and body.
Description (Brief)
Purple Hearts" series; handwritten on verso "Pfc. Randall Clunen, 19, of the 101st Airborne Division, was wounded December 8, 2003 in Tal Afar, Iraq when a suicide car bomber broke U.S. security lines. The explosion sent shrapnel into Clunen's face, neck and body. / Photographed at his home in Salem, Ohio. / February 14, 2004 / From the Purple Hearts Series
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2004-02-14
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0004
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0004
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2006-08-27
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0039
catalog number
2021.0057.0039
accession number
2021.0057
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2008-02-20
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0029
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0029
From the photographer, handwritten on verso of the photographer: "Spc. Robert Acosta, 20, an ammunitions specialists with the 1st Armored Division, was wounded July 13, 2003 near Baghdad International Airport when a grenade was thrown into his vehicle and exploded.
Description (Brief)
From the photographer, handwritten on verso of the photographer: "Spc. Robert Acosta, 20, an ammunitions specialists with the 1st Armored Division, was wounded July 13, 2003 near Baghdad International Airport when a grenade was thrown into his vehicle and exploded. He lost his right hand and the use of his left leg. / Photographed at his home in Santa Ana, California April 12, 2004 / From the Purple Hearts series"
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2004-04-12
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0001
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0001
From the photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Spc. Sam Ross, 21, a combat engineer with the 82nd Airborne Division, was wounded May 18, 2003 while disposing of munitions near Baghdad.
Description (Brief)
From the photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Spc. Sam Ross, 21, a combat engineer with the 82nd Airborne Division, was wounded May 18, 2003 while disposing of munitions near Baghdad. He lost much of his eyesight, his left leg, and some of his hearing in the blast. / Photographed in the woods near his trailer in Dunbar Township, Pennsylvania / October 19, 2003 / From the Purple Hearts Series"
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2003-10-19
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0006
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0006
From the Photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Purple Hearts" series; handwritten on verso "Sgt. Jeremy Feldbusch, 24, an Army Ranger with the 75th Ranger Regiment, was wounded by an incoming artillery round on April 3, 2003, near the Haditha Dam in Iraq.
Description (Brief)
From the Photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Purple Hearts" series; handwritten on verso "Sgt. Jeremy Feldbusch, 24, an Army Ranger with the 75th Ranger Regiment, was wounded by an incoming artillery round on April 3, 2003, near the Haditha Dam in Iraq. He lost his eye sight and suffered a tramatic brain injury. / Photographed at home in Blairsville, Pennsylvania. / October 18, 2003 / From the Purple Hearts Series"
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2003-10-18
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0008
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0008
From the photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Spc. Jose Martinez, 20, of the 101st Airborne Division, was wounded April 5, 2003 in Karbala, Iraq when the humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb. He suffered massive burns to his face, body and head.
Description (Brief)
From the photographer, handwritten on the verso of the photograph: "Spc. Jose Martinez, 20, of the 101st Airborne Division, was wounded April 5, 2003 in Karbala, Iraq when the humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb. He suffered massive burns to his face, body and head. / Photographed at his home in Dalton, Georgia April 3, 2004 / From the Purple Hearts Series"
Location
Currently not on view
date printed
2021
date made
2004-04-03
maker
Berman, Nina
ID Number
2021.0057.0003
accession number
2021.0057
catalog number
2021.0057.0003
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2010-01-20
2009-01-20
maker
Morse, Paul
ID Number
2010.0179.05
catalog number
2010.0179.05
accession number
2010.0179
Black and white pigment print (IRIS print), Amish 3, Lancaster County, PA, 2001, by Robert Weingarten, 2/25, printed by Nash Editions (blind stamp, lower left corner), printed on IRIS 3047. Recto: Numbered and signed. Verso: titled and dated.
Description
Black and white pigment print (IRIS print), Amish 3, Lancaster County, PA, 2001, by Robert Weingarten, 2/25, printed by Nash Editions (blind stamp, lower left corner), printed on IRIS 3047. Recto: Numbered and signed. Verso: titled and dated. Four buggies (without horses) in front of two barns.
Date made
2001
maker
Weingarten, Robert I.
ID Number
2005.0266.01
accession number
2005.0266
catalog number
2005.0266.01
hand colored stereograph; printed on verso "Guess My Name"; two women and a man in an interior room, such as a salon; man seated in chair wearing lavender pants, yellow vest and black jacket holding an open book on his lap; young woman standing behind him wearing a yellow dress w
Description (Brief)
hand colored stereograph; printed on verso "Guess My Name"; two women and a man in an interior room, such as a salon; man seated in chair wearing lavender pants, yellow vest and black jacket holding an open book on his lap; young woman standing behind him wearing a yellow dress with full skirt and black jacket and yellow hat with a flower on it, she has her hands placed over the eyes of the man; a second woman is standing to the left wearing a blue dress with a full skirt and a red and black shawl and a bonnet with a yellow ribbon tied under her chin
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th-early 20th century
ID Number
2012.3033.0485
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0485
Working on assignment, Henry Horenstein photographed EmmyLou Harris (b. 1947) at her home. In the 1970s, Harris represented the generation of musicians who were influenced by traditional country, rock, and folk music.
Description
Working on assignment, Henry Horenstein photographed EmmyLou Harris (b. 1947) at her home. In the 1970s, Harris represented the generation of musicians who were influenced by traditional country, rock, and folk music. Over the years, Harris has had a profound impact on contemporary popular and country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1980
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.034
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.034
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
ID Number
2010.0182.0113
accession number
2010.0182
catalog number
2010.0182.0113
Pearl Butler accepts a song request from a young fan. Pearl (1927-1998) and Carl Butler (1927-1992) were part of the honky-tonk and bluegrass music movements before World War II.
Description
Pearl Butler accepts a song request from a young fan. Pearl (1927-1998) and Carl Butler (1927-1992) were part of the honky-tonk and bluegrass music movements before World War II. After their 1962 hit, "Don't Let Me Cross Over," the Butlers became one of the most popular male-female vocal teams in country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.076
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.076
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2009-11-13
maker
Kunin, Claudia
ID Number
2010.0034.01.06
catalog number
2010.0034.01.06
accession number
2010.0034
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2001
maker
Dreskin, Cybele
ID Number
2005.0237.05
catalog number
2005.0237.05
accession number
2005.0237
Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style.
Description
Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style. After a 1974 suicide attempt and a mountain climbing accident in 1975, he revamped his own image, modeling it after rowdy southern rockers. Later he was considered part of the Outlaw Country Movement.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.074
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.074
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Oct 2009
date printed
Jan 2010
maker
Kunin, Claudia
ID Number
2010.0034.04
catalog number
2010.0034.04
accession number
2010.0034
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 20th century
maker
Hosoe, Eikoh
ID Number
PG.69.152.2
accession number
301337
catalog number
69.152.2
At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, musicians could hang out, perform and hope for a chance to be discovered.Currently not on view
Description
At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, musicians could hang out, perform and hope for a chance to be discovered.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.111
catalog number
2003.0169.111
accession number
2003.0169
An intergenerational crowd leaves the Ryman Auditorium after a show. The "WSM" stands for "We Shield Millions," the motto for the insurance company that originally funded the Grand Ole Opry.Currently not on view
Description
An intergenerational crowd leaves the Ryman Auditorium after a show. The "WSM" stands for "We Shield Millions," the motto for the insurance company that originally funded the Grand Ole Opry.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.060
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.060
Pigment print of Bob Weingarten's portrait of Carl Lewis from his "Portraits without People" series.
Description
Pigment print of Bob Weingarten's portrait of Carl Lewis from his "Portraits without People" series. Elements include ten Olympic medals, entrance to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a bust sculpture of an African woman, and a quote from Sri Chinmoy - "In the outer consciousness, you have already established something immortal. Now you must do the same in the inner consciousness with your heart's cry for mankind and your life's love for mankind." Central figure is a crystal turtle. Background image is the gymnasium in Lewis' home with Bodymasters equipment. "RW" blindstamp, "AP" and signed by photographer along bottom edge.
date made
2009
producer
Weingarten, Robert I.
maker
Weingarten, Robert I.
ID Number
2008.0179.01
accession number
2008.0179
catalog number
2008.0179.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2001
maker
Dreskin, Cybele
ID Number
2005.0237.02
catalog number
2005.0237.02
accession number
2005.0237
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2000-06-13
maker
Kennerly, David Hume
ID Number
2003.0005.007
catalog number
2003.0005.007
accession number
2003.0005
Amish 41, Holmes County, OH, black and white pigment print (IRIS print) by Robert Weingarten, 1/25, printed by Nash Editions (blind stamp, lower left corner), printed on IRIS 3047. Recto: Numbered and signed. Verso: titled and dated.
Description
Amish 41, Holmes County, OH, black and white pigment print (IRIS print) by Robert Weingarten, 1/25, printed by Nash Editions (blind stamp, lower left corner), printed on IRIS 3047. Recto: Numbered and signed. Verso: titled and dated. One woman's cap, two men's hats, and lantern hang from wooden pegs on wall.
Date made
2001
2002
maker
Weingarten, Robert I.
ID Number
2005.0266.05
accession number
2005.0266
catalog number
2005.0266.05

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