August 6 through October 30, 2005
At The Fogg Art Museum (more about the Fogg)

Barger Studio: Orrion Barger (American, 1913-1984), Edith Barger (American, b. 1913), Untitled (Betty's first bike, Chamberlain, South Dakota), 1948. Gelatin silver print, c. 1979, by Barbara Norfleet and assistants, 24.1 x 30.8 cm. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, On deposit from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 4.2002.38. Photo: Katya Kallsen, HUAM, © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

This exhibition will examine the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts’ photography collection of more than 28,000 prints, negatives, and related materials. A unique resource for the study of fine art, social documentary, and professional photography, the collection was established in the mid-1960s to consolidate some of Harvard University’s holdings of significant historical photographs and to serve as a resource for teaching the history and aesthetic practice of photography. Barbara Norfleet, longtime curator at the Carpenter Center, continually challenged existing paradigms about the meaning and function of the medium through innovative exhibitions, publications, programs, and teaching.

After Norfleet’s retirement, the collection was placed on permanent deposit at the Fogg in 2002. A New Kind of Historical Evidence considers aspects of this remarkable collection through the lens of its singular history and the various ways its four components reflect shifting ideas about the evidentiary nature of photography.

Organized by Michelle Lamunière, Charles C. Cunningham Sr. Assistant Curator of Photography. The Beinecke Foundation Inc. has provided major support for work on the Carpenter Center Photograph Collection.

Press Release

The Boston Transit Collection at the Fogg Art Museum - The Boston Transit Collection is comprised of approximately 700 glass plate negatives and prints documenting the construction of the city's subway and elevated railway systems between 1895 and the beginning of World War II.