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PHOTOGRAPHYANDTHEMUSEUM
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Photography1,establishedthecanonsofevaluatingandanalysingphotographsfor
manyyearstocome2.Thesecondhalfofthe20thcenturywasalsothetimewhen
thefirstmuseumsofphotographyweresetup,approachingthemediuminadiver-
sityofways–asahistoryoftechnique,orofimages,asasocialphenomenonand,
mostfrequently,combiningalltheseperspectives.Berlin,NewYork,Stockholm,
SanDiego,Reykjavik,Marrakesh–theseareonlyafewofthegreatcitiesinwhich
therearemuseumsofphotography,bringingtogetherhistoricalcollectionsand
contemporaryprints,photographicobjectsandequipment.Andyet,beyondthese
specialisedinstitutions,therearealsophotographiccollectionsinmostifnotall
ofthemuseumsacrosstheworld,comprisingbyfarthelargestnumberofallthe
collectionsthatarepreserved.
DrawingontheviewsofsuchauthorsasUrsStahelandElizabethEdwards3,we
canacceptthattherelationshipbetweenphotographsandtheinstitutionsen-
trustedwiththeircollection,museumsandarchivesaboveall,hasbeenambiguous
fromthebeginning,anddifficulttodefine,particularlywhencomparedtoother
fieldsofartorcraft.Inexaminingthereasonsforthissituation,wehavesuggested
totheauthorsofthefollowingtextsthattheyconsidertheextenttowhichthese
reasonsareinherentinthenatureofphotography,incessantlyeitherreducingor
exaltingthemeaningsembodiedinsurroundingreality.Inbothmuseumtheory
andpracticedoubtshaverecentlybeenexpressedregardingcurrentcriteriaforthe
classificationofimages,doubtswhichdemandaresponse.Schemaforformulating
strategiesforcollectingaswellasresearchfieldswhicharebaseduponhistorical
andaesthetictraditionstodayappearinsufficientandrequirereevaluation.
Aboveall,however,wewouldliketoconsiderthenotionofthephotographas
amuseumoranarchivalobject,seekingananswertothequestion“whatispho-
tography?”in,forexample,theareaofitsrelationshiptoreality,aswhenwespeak
oftheambiguouspotentialofimages,operatingasperfectrepresentationsofre-
ality,andatthesametimefreedfromitsinfluence.Istheirpredominancereally
1ThiswasanexpandedversionofthecatalogueoftheexhibitionIPhotography1839-1935’,
originallyorganisedin1935.
2Newhall’smannerofapproachingthehistoryofphotographyistodayregardedasanachro-
nistic,andhispublicationsandexhibitionactivitieshavebeensubjectedtocriticalappraisal.See
VanDerenCoke(ed.),OneHundredYearsofPhotographicHistory:EssaysinHonorofBeaumont
Newhall,Albuquerque1975;P.Walch,T.F
.Barrow(eds.),PerspectivesonPhotography:Essaysin
HonorofBeaumontNewhall,Albuquerque1986;B.L.Michaels,IBehindtheScenesofPhoto-
graphicHistory:Reyher,NewhallandAtget’,Afterimage,1988,no.10,pp.14-17;M.Gasser,IHistories
ofPhotography1839-1939’,HistoryofPhotography,XVI,1992,no.1,pp.57-58;M.Braun,IBeaumont
Newhalletl’historiographiedelaphotographieanglophone’,Étudesphotographiques,2005,
no.16,pp.19-31.
3AboveallE.Edwards,C.Morton(eds.),Photographs,Museums,Collections:BetweenArtand
Information,London2015,aswellasE.Edwards,M.Mead,IAbsentHistoriesandAbsentImages:
Photographs,MuseumsandtheColonialPast’,MuseumandSociety,2012,vol.11,pp.1-38.
