The art world’s focus this February will be trained on The Rijksmuseum, which is mounting the first ever major exhibition of American photography in Europe.
Incorporating more than 200 works across three centuries, American Photography zooms in on the fascinating history of photography in the US. The show at the Rijksmuseum recounts the story of the medium through almost 200,000 vintage prints, photo albums and books.
Over the last 10 years, the Museum has assembled an especially impressive collection of American photography. Highlights from the Rijksmuseum’s collection, on view for the first time, are exhibited beside loans from more than 30 collections in the US, Netherlands and other European countries.
Ming Smith, America Seen Through Stars and Stripes, New York City, 1976. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (VA).
The show presents apicture of the country through the lens of US photographers. Mirroring the nation in all its richness and complexity, American Photography zeroes in on such subjects as the American Dream, landscapes and portraiture. It presents how photographers have captured the seismic events that have shaped their country.
A key theme of the exhibition is photography’s development as an art form. It traces its evolution from 19th-century daguerreotypes of frost flowers on a window to the work of such great American photographers as Irving Penn, Sally Mann, Paul Strand, Diane Arbus, Charles Sheeler, Dawoud Bey, Sarah Sense, Robert Frank, Lisette Model, Nan Goldin, Richard Avedon, James Van Der Zee and Andy Warhol.
Left: Anonymous, Family Standing Beside Their Car, c. 1957–1960. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Right: Irene Poon, Virginia, 1965. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Gift of Charles Wong. © Irene Poon Photography Archive, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries.
Images from these iconic artists are on display next to revelatory pictures by unknown and anonymous photographers.
Another significant strand of American Photography is a demonstration of how photography has progressed to the point where it now pervades every element of our lives. It is ubiquitous in art, news, advertising, family portraits, postcards, record covers and more.
Penn once said: “A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it.”
This captivating exhibition is likely to have just this effect on everyone who visits it.
American Photography
Rijksmuseum
Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam
7th February – 9th June 2025
More information and tickets, HERE.
Words: James Rampton
Lead image: Amanda López, Homegirls, San Francisco, 2008. National Museum for American History, Washington DC. © Amanda López (Image cropped due to formatting restrictions).
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