the less self-conscious tradition of photography car-
ried out daily in the practical, commercial, and
amateur spheres. As well as an ideological action,
the exhibition further helped Steichen broaden the
still narrow audience of people who would come to
see photographs in a museum. Although radically
different,The Family of ManandForgotten Photo-
graphers shared the photojournalistic notion of
prioritizing the message of the exhibition over that
of any individual’s photographs.
Although a photographer of note, Steichen did
not display his work at MoMA until he had
already announced his retirement. His own retro-
spective—Steichen the Photographer—in 1961 pro-
vided a lively insight into his work and was no
exception to his self-professed aim to promote the
‘‘aliveness of the melting pot of American photo-
graphy.’’ MoMA had long since reneged on its plan
to divest itself of earlier work as time passed, mean-
ing that expanding and shaping the collection was
of paramount importance. Despite his belief in the
domestic product Steichen also made important
acquisitions from Europe and Latin America, giv-
ing the collection an international breadth in keep-
ing with the world view of the curator ofThe
Family of Man.
While his successor, John Szarkowski, would
achieve the reputation as a nurturer of young talent,
Steichen was responsible for inspiring and recogniz-
ing the generation coming up in the 1950s. Steichen
enjoyed capturing the tone of the moment rather
than delving into the past: There were few historical
exhibitions and only two books published by the
Department during his tenure (The Family of Man,
and Steichen the Photographer). He worked with
Robert Frank before his groundbreaking seriesThe
Americanswas published; he exhibited Harry Call-
ahan and Aaron Siskind early in their careers; and he
bought two Rauschenberg prints in 1952—before
any other work by Rauschenberg had entered any
other Museum collection.
The Department of Photography Under John
Szarkowski, 1962–1992
John Szarkowski, who was picked by Steichen to
succeed him in 1962, went on to have such an
impact on photography thatUS News and World
Reportcould claim with little exaggeration in 1990
that ‘‘Szarkowski’s thinking, whether Americans
know it or not, has become our thinking about
photography.’’ During his directorship photogra-
phy went from being barely accepted in the art
world to being an established, respected, and highly
sought after museum art. This change went hand-
in-hand with the rocketing market value of photo-
graphic prints of the 1970s and 1980s. The sudden
appreciation in value of photographic prints meant
that the Museum’s collection, as well as growing in
size to over 20,000 prints by Szarkowksi’s depar-
ture, had also grown exponentially in value.
At pains to distinguish himself from Steichen,
Szarkowki’s first show, Five Unrelated Photogra-
phers(1963), moved away from Steichen’s category-
based exhibitions and displayed five photographers
(Garry Winogrand, Ken Heyman, George Krause,
Jerome Liebling, and Minor White) who were dis-
tinctly different from one another. Steichen had
steered clear of one-person shows; in an eight year
span Szarkowksi exhibited Andre ́ Kerte ́sz (1964),
Dorothea Lange (1966), Henri Cartier-Bresson
(1968), Brassaı ̈(1968), Bill Brandt (1969), Euge`ne
Atget (1969), Walker Evans (1971), and Clarence
H. White in major one-person exhibitions. Berenice
Abbott, Bruce Davidson, Duane Michals, and
August Sander were among many others who
received smaller, yet important, treatments.
Szarkowski also successfully mounted thematic
exhibitions, curating The Photographer and the
American Landscape(1963), before moving to the
first of his two important theoretical exhibitions.
His directorship was bookended by these epic the-
oretical exhibitions:The Photographer’s Eye, at the
beginning of 1964, brought Szarkowski’s vision of
photography to the forefront of public attention;
Photography Until Nowat the end of his tenure
(1989) established his view of the approved history
of photography.
The Photographer’s Eyerevolutionized the field
of photography by displaying works of acknowl-
edged masters side by side with magazine spreads
and anonymous documentary photographs. Diver-
ging markedly from his predecessors he brought
together a wide array of photography including
anthropological collections, industrial prints, and
photographs by artists of their own paintings or
sculptures to celebrate the newly enlarged display
space available to the Department. Between his two
epics Szarkowski put together other ‘‘study’’ exhi-
bitions to investigate issues in photography, such
as narrative inThe Photo Essay(1965) and the
expanding scope of the camera’s eye inOnce Invi-
sible(1967) but his swansong was the ambitious
Photography Until Now, which still lives on in the
eponymous book. In that show Szarkowski cemen-
ted his position as the eclectic champion of the
photographic art in its vitality no matter where it
is found.
Between the two huge Museum building projects
that took place in 1964 and 1984, Szarkowski built upMUSEUM OF MODERN ART OF NEW YORK, THE