LIFE: Six Women Photographers
June 27, 2019 | Source: Monroe Gallery of Photography
Margaret Bourke-White, photograph from âFranklin Rooseveltâs Wild West,â LIFE, November 23, 1936
© LIFE Picture Collection, Meredith Corporation
Via The New York Historical Society
For the editors of LIFEâthe first magazine to tell stories with photographs rather than textâthe camera was not merely a reporter, but also a potent commentator with the power to frame news and events for a popular audience. For decades, Americans saw the world through the lens of the magazineâs photographers. Between the late 1930s and the early 1970s, LIFE magazine retained few women photographers as full-time staff or on a semi-permanent basis. LIFE: Six Women Photographers showcases the work of some of those women and how their work contributed to LIFEâs pursuit of American identity through photojournalism. The exhibition features more than 70 images showcasing the extraordinary work created by Margaret Bourke-White, Hansel Mieth, Marie Hansen, Martha Holmes, Nina Leen, and Lisa Larsen.
How were these women part of a larger editorial vision? What topics did they cover, and how did their work reflectâand sometimes expandâthe mission of the magazine? The exhibit reveals these photographersâ important role in creating modern photojournalism and defining what LIFE editor-in-chief Henry Luce called the âAmerican Century.â Curated by Sarah Gordon, curatorial scholar in womenâs history, Center for Womenâs History, and Marilyn Satin Kushner, curator and head, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections; with Erin Levitsky, Ryerson University; and William J. Simmons, Andrew Mellon Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Center for Womenâs History.
LIFE: Six Women Photographers is proudly sponsored by Northern Trust. Generous support provided by Joyce B. Cowin, with additional support from Sara Lee Schup and Jerry Speyer. Exhibitions at New-York Historical are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the Seymour Neuman Endowed Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.
June 28 â October 6, 2019
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)
New York, NY 10024
Phone (212) 873-3400
Related: The Guardian
'Just the tip of the iceberg': revealing Life's early female photographers