Further Reading
Doud, Richard. ‘‘Arthur Rothstein Talks with Richard
Doud.’’Archives of American Art Journal.Volume 17;
number 1 (1977): 19–23. The complete transcript of this
interview is available online at http://artarchives.si.edu/
oralhist/rothst64.htm.
Rothstein,Arthur.‘‘ThePicturethatBecameaCampaignIssue.’’
PopularPhotography.Volume61(September1961):42–3,79.
Rothstein, Arthur.Arthur Rothstein: Words and Pictures.
Includes anthology of numerous Rothstein articles from
various periodicals. New York: Amphoto, 1979.
Rothstein, Arthur.Arthur Rothstein’s America in Photo-
graphs 1930–1980.New York: Dover, 1984.
Rothstein, Arthur.Color Photography Now.Philadelphia:
Chilton Books, 1970.
Rothstein, Arthur.Creative Color in Photography. Philadel-
phia: Chilton Books, 1963.
Rothstein, Arthur.Photojournalism.GardenCity,NewYork:
Amphoto, 1979. Earlier editions 1956, 1965, 1969, 1974.
Rothstein, Arthur.The American West in the Thirties: 122
Photographs by Arthur Rothstein. New York: Dover, 1981.
Rothstein, Arthur.The Depression Years as Photographed
by Arthur Rothstein.New York: Dover, 1978.THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
The Photographic Society was formed on 20 Jan-
uary 1853. In August 1894, it became The Royal
Photographic Society (RPS). The Society’s pri-
mary objective was embodied in its introductory
address, published in the first issue of its mouth-
piece, the Journal of the Photographic Society
(later, thePhotographic Journal). It was to pro-
mote ‘‘the Art and Science of Photography, by
the interchange of thought and experience amongst
Photographers.’’ The Society carried its ambitions
into the twentieth century, organising meetings,
lectures, conferences, and exhibitions. TheJournal
continues to provide a forum for the dissemination
of medium-related information.
Established as a learned society, the RPS now
offers three levels of distinction in photography:
Fellowship (FRPS) introduced in 1895, Associate-
ship (ARPS) introduced in 1924, and Licentiate-
ship (LRPS) introduced in 1972. The elected RPS
Council will award an Honorary Fellowship, at
its discretion, in recognition of outstanding service
to photography.
An Annual International Print Exhibition has
been staged almost every year since the Society’s
inception, and the Society has variously used its
premises to exhibit pictures from its collection, or
to showcase touring exhibitions. For instance, in
1900, an exhibition organised by the photographer
F. Holland Day, and entitledThe New School of
American Photography, was hung in the RPS
Rooms at 66 Russell Square, London. During the
1970s, when the Society occupied premises at 14
South Audley Street, London, a number of one-
man shows (including Roger Fenton, Alvin Lang-
don Coburn, and Robert Demachy), in addition to
themed, pictorial exhibitions, were staged in the
John Dudley Johnston Gallery.
In 1980, the Society established its headquarters
at The Octagon in Bath. The move ensured that the
Society’s photography-related activities could be
expanded, and a full exhibitions programme put
into place. Photogenic (October 2000–January
2001), an exhibition that drew exclusively from
the RPS archives, comprised 130 original prints
spanning 160 years of photography. It was the
last RPS exhibition held at that venue.
In 2001, the RPS Council agreed to seek new
partners to enable further access to its collection.
Subsequent negotiations resulted in the collection
being transferred from private ownership of the
Society, to the nation, under the care of the Na-
tional Museum of Photography, Film & Television,
Bradford. It was made accessible to the public in
November 2003. The RPS president who facilitated
this decision was John Page Hon FRPS.
The origins, and changing fate of the RPS, are
mirrored to a large extent in its collection. Despite
the frequently-stated intention in the nineteenth cen-
tury to create a permanent, national collection, it was
not until the 1920s that collecting began properly.
The Society’s first (honorary) curator was John
Dudley Johnston. Twice RPS President (1923–1925
and 1929–1931), Johnston was a prominent and
important Society member. In 1907, however, he
had been elected a member of the secessionist
group, the Linked Ring Brotherhood (1892–1910),ROTHSTEIN, ARTHUR