Curator Picks

Invited to create a small group of collection highlights, Katherine Ware, Curator of Photography, identified the following works:

As the curator of the photographs collection, I thought I should start my first selection of highlights there. I chose a gem from each century of photography and I’m calling this group “Today’s Three,” because on another day I could easily make different choices.

The Frank J. Haynes photograph is a big, beautiful albumen print that captures the immensity of Yellowstone Falls thundering down into the canyon. The artist lightly painted a bit of blue color on the river for realism and there is also a man fishing, very tiny in relation to the landscape.

This platinum print of Georgia O’Keeffe is from very early in Alfred Stieglitz’s extended portrait of her and she is posed in front of one of her paintings. O’Keeffe said of Stieglitz that “he was always photographing himself,” which puts a great twist on the idea that the portrait reveals something about her.

Cara Romero is doing interesting work using photography to explore issues of identity and self-representation. This piece, which I saw when it was fairly new, struck me as particularly masterful. She gives a hint of a story but what is most compelling is the vibrant mood she creates with her command of color, composition, characters, and light. The fact that it was taken in nearby Española sweetens the deal!