The Altering Eye: Photographs from the National Gallery of Art

In 1949 Georgia O’Keeffe chose the National Gallery of Art as the steward of nearly 1,600 photographs by Alfred Stieglitz. With the formation in 1990 of the Gallery’s department of photographs under Sarah Greenough, the collection has grown to nearly 15,000 works of art, an assemblage that charts the development of the medium and reveals the beauty and dynamic versatility of photography over its course of more than 175 years.

This elegant book presents some of the most significant and compelling photographs acquired over the years, ranging from experimental photographs made in the earliest years of the medium to key works by major 20th-century figures, and contemporary pieces that reset the ways in which photography shapes our experience of the modern world. The guides on this enlightening walk through the history of the medium are members of the extraordinary curatorial team that established the National Gallery’s international reputation for photography exhibitions and publications over the past 25 years, advancing the recognition of photography as a fine art.