The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project (MPP), which contains portfolios of photographers and artists' work who reside in the Midwestern United States. The Museum of Contemporary Photography began collecting in the early 1980s and has since grown its collection to include more than 15,000 objects by over 1,500 artists. The MoCP is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

History

MoCP's initial permanent collection was defined as "contemporary", including works by American photographers since the 1950s. In the early 2000s, the date was pushed back to include the Farm Security Administration works of the 1930s and works by international artists.

Permanent collection

The MoCP's permanent collection includes work by

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

, Harry Callahan,

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (''née'' Pattle; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was a British photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian m ...

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange' ...

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...

, David Plowden, Aaron Siskind, and

Victor Skrebneski Victor Paul Skrebneski (December 17, 1929 – April 4, 2020) was an American photographer born in Chicago to parents of Polish and Russian heritage. He was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1943 and attended the Illinois I ...

among the 15,000-plus photographs and photographic objects, including gelatin-silver prints, color work, digital pieces, photograms, and various alternative processes.

Selected exhibitions

Notable exhibitions have included: *

Paul Shambroom Paul Shambroom (born 1956) is an American photographer and graduate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design whose work explores power in its various forms. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a grant from the Creative Capi ...

: ''Evidence of Democracy,'' October–December 2003 * Michael Wolf: ''The Transparent City and Work/Place,'' November 2008 – January 2009 * Guy Tillim: ''Avenue Patrice Lumumba,'' January–March 2011Weinberg, Lauren
"Guy Tillim: Avenue Patrice Lumumba" at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Time Out Chicago, February 2, 2011. Accessed August 19, 2011.

References

External links

* Art museums established in 1976 Museums in Chicago University museums in Illinois Photography museums and galleries in the United States Art museums and galleries in Illinois

Museum of Contemporary Photography The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Projec ...

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