Since acquiring its first photograph in 1973 and creating its photography department in 1993, the museum has continually worked to expand its collection of photographs, transforming it into one that showcases the history of the medium while mirroring the culture and time in which the works were made. Culminating those years of strategic work, and signaling the future direction for the department’s acquisitions, this exhibition will include some works on view for the first time at the museum. New Acquisitions: Photography will highlight the extraordinary breadth of photographs the institution owns and celebrate how crafting a collection is an art form in and of itself. Featured photographers include Dawoud Bey, Rahim Fortune, Nikita Gale, Martine Gutierrez, Richard Learoyd, Baldwin Lee, Catherine Opie, Ed Panar, Susan Worsham, and more.
New Acquisitions: Photography
June 12 – September 6, 2026
Matthew Brandt (American, born Los Angeles, California, 1982), Nurphar Lake WY 5, 2013, dye coupler print soaked in Nurphar Lake water, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with funds from the Donald and Marilyn Keough Family, the Friends of Photography, Jane and Clay Jackson, and Barbara and Bertram Levy, 2017.335. © Matthew Brandt.
Charles Nègre (French, born Grasse, France, 1820–1880), Cathédrale de Chartres Royal Portal, 1857, photogravure, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, gift of J. Gregory Keller, 2023.362.
Bruce Davidson (American, born Oak Park, Illinois, 1933), Arresting Demonstrators, Birmingham, from the Time of Change series, 1963, gelatin silver print, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, anonymous gift, 2018.565. © Bruce Davidson / Magnum Photos.
David Alekhuogie (American, born Los Angeles, California, 1986), Birth Home, 2013, pigmented inkjet print, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with funds from the Friends of Photography, 2018.11. © David Alekhuogie.
This exhibition is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor
Major Exhibition Series Sponsor
Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporter
Robin and Hilton Howell
Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporter
Mrs. Harriet H. Warren
Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters
Farideh and Al Azadi
Mary and Neil Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones
Megan and Garrett Langley
Margot and Danny McCaul
Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller
Generous support is also provided by
Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, and RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund.