Kimbell Art Museum Presents Photography’s First Century, Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Brassaï, On the Boulevard Saint-Jacques, 1930–32, donated by artist’s estate, 2012. BnF, Department of Prints and Photography
Photography’s First Century: Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, traces the history of photography’s first century of exploration and discovery, from the rise of daguerreotypes and calotypes in the 1840s to the age of modernism between the World Wars.
Drawn from the rich holdings of the Bibliothèque nationale de France—one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of photographs in the world—this survey of more than 170 images includes work by Henri Le Secq, Gustave Le Gray, Félix Tournachon (Nadar), Édouard Baldus, Louis-Émile Durandelle, Edgar Degas, Eugène Atget, Sonia Delaunay, André Kertesz, Rogi André, Man Ray, and Brassaï.
Marking the 200th anniversary of photography, this exceptional exhibition is the Kimbell’s first-ever exhibition devoted to the art of photography and has been awarded the French Ministry of Culture’s “Bicentennial of Photography” label.