FOTOFOLIO: Adams, Strand, Weston, Weston, White

2015

Photography portfolios—sets of prints sold in limited editions—reached the height of popularity in the twentieth century. Whether assembled by a single artist or by groups of photographers bound by a common aesthetic concept, portfolios offered collectors the opportunity to acquire multiple prints at once, often at a reduced price. The examples on view here are some of the best-known American portfolios created between the 1940s and 1980s.

The earliest portfolios were assembled during the mid-nineteenth century. Considered documents rather than works of art, they were typically made for governments or captains of industry. They covered a variety of subjects, including Roman ruins, the topography of the American West, and even new railroad systems. By the twentieth century, as the market for art photography expanded, prominent photographers began creating their own portfolios to sell to collectors. Typically ranging from editions of five to 250, carefully sequenced portfolios such as Paul Strand’s Photographs of Mexico address a specific subject matter or, as with Edward Weston’s The Fiftieth Anniversary Portfolio, span an artist’s career.

Many contemporary photographers now favor the limited-edition book or large-scale wall print, but portfolios remain an important photographic form and a means for artists to construct a complete idea from multiple images.

Curated by Julia Dolan