Various artists
September 16, 2022 – January 8, 2023

From photography’s beginnings in the United States, Black studio photographers operated on the developing edge of the medium to produce beautiful portraits for their clients, while also making a variety of other photographic work in keeping with important movements like pictorialism, modernism, and abstraction. Called to the Camera illustrates the artistic virtuosity, social significance, and political impact of Black photographers working in commercial portrait studios during photography’s first century.

Image: Untitled [Hooks’ School of Photography Students Reviewing Photographs], c. 1950, Hooks Brothers Studio, Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches, Collection of Andrea and Rodney Herenton. (The Hooks Brothers Photograph Collection, consisting of original photographs, negatives, equipment, and ephemera was acquired by the RWS Company, LLC in 2018.)