Object Lesson: The Faith Healer by Karl Struss
Karl Struss was an active member of the pictorialist photography community, which favored soft, dark, and carefully crafted prints. The Faith Healer is a kind of film still on the set of the 1921 silent movie, now lost. Read More
Object Lesson: Albumen print, Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, France
A visitor to the shrine at Lourdes could purchase a photograph as a souvenir, or such images could order one from a photographer’s catalog without ever making the pilgrimage. For a person of faith, viewing this photograph in an album or on the mantle could call up feelings of hope and reverence across time and space. Read More
Object Lesson: Man Soaking Bread at Water Pump by Roman Vishniac
In 1935, Roman Vishniac was hired by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a leading humanitarian assistance organization, to photograph Jewish communities throughout Eastern Europe. Over the next few… Read More
Object Lesson: Srinagar, Kashmir by Henri Cartier-Bresson
A group of Muslim women pray on Hari Parbat in photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson. In this arrested the moment, a woman’s rgesture of prayer ooks as if she is releasing the distant clouds into the air like doves. Read More
Object Lesson: Gravestone Detail, Concord Massachusetts by Ansel Adams
Throughout his career, Ansel Adams was always interested in gravestones. Beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s, Adams photographed old carved headstones in cemeteries from California to New England. He viewed these markers as “profoundly human.” Read More
Object Lesson: James Van Der Zee photographs of Daddy Grace and Rabbi Mordecai Herman
Between World Wars I and II, James Van Der Zee was one of the most popular photographers in Harlem, New York. Known primarily for his portraits, Van Der Zee also worked for a wide range of clients outside of his studio, including a variety of Harlem’s diverse faith communities. Read More