Photography Collection Art

Photography Collection comprises approximately 500,000 photographs by 6,000 photographers. It was created in 1980 by a group of professional artists. The images culled from other New York Public Library (NYPL) departments and branches were brought together to form a new division. The collection is notably rich in 19th-century landscapes of the American West, with works by leading artists. Equally well represented are portraits of Native Americans, which include more than 1,400 photographs. The Collection encompasses the broadest range of the medium, including images made for scientific, industrial and commercial application. It serves as valuable resources for scholars of photography and American studies. The Photography Collection reference department collection includes in excess of 20,000 volumes on exhibition catalogs, the history of photography and photographers, biographical dictionaries, manuals, and resource guides. The primary means of searching the Photography Collection is by using the name of the photographer, but title, photographic process, and time period may also be used. Works by selective photographers as well as some of the larger collections of photographs have been cataloged by photographic process, subject, and time period, and are found in the online catalog of the Library. The collection includes examples of almost every photographic process, from topographical and travel photography, the daguerreotype to digital imagery, and is especially strong in stereoscopic views, photographically illustrated books, and portraiture. Framed Photography Collection art are very popular with many collectors who price them highly and stock them in large numbers. Periodicals and books on general photography have been obtained expansively throughout the history of the Library.