“PHOTOGRAPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE”: This 1964 work by Minor White is part of an exhibition on view at the Princeton University Art Museum April 19 through September 12.
The Princeton University Art Museum presents “Photography as a Way of Life: Minor White, Aaron Siskind, and Harry Callahan,” an exhibition exploring the intertwined careers of three of the most influential photographers and teachers in mid-20th-century America. On view from April 19 through September 7, and then traveling, the exhibition draws on the rich photography holdings of the Princeton University Art Museum and its Minor White Archive to bring together previously unpublished color and black-and-white prints, rarely seen slides, and an array of published and archival materials that illuminate a vision of making a living and shaping a life through photography.
“‘Photography as a Way of Life’ highlights a pivotal historical moment when photography emerged as a serious academic discipline and a viable artistic profession, and thus as a way of being and living,” said James Steward, Nancy A. Nasher–David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, Director of the Princeton University Art Museum. “White, Siskind, and Callahan did more than make extraordinary photographs: They built institutions, communities, and ideas that continue to shape how photography is taught and valued today.”
Tracing the decades after World War II, “Photography as a Way of Life” explores how White, Siskind, and Callahan redefined photography as both an artistic practice and a professional vocation. Coming to the medium from distinct backgrounds and visual traditions, these three artists converged around shared commitments to abstraction, deeply personal expression, and the belief that photography could sustain a life’s work.
The exhibition takes its title from a recurring phrase in White’s diaries and letters, in which he described photography as a “way of life.” For White, the phrase encompassed artistic ambition, pedagogy, and personal growth — a vision he advanced as a founding editor of Aperture, the influential photography magazine launched in 1952. Siskind and Callahan were central figures in White’s vision for the field, with their work prominently featured in Aperture alongside broader discussions of photographic education and postwar art photography.
“Princeton University holds a central place in the academic study of photography, with a proud legacy of stewardship and landmark scholarly exhibitions,” said Brendan Fay, exhibition curator. “The Minor White Archive is one of the cornerstones of that legacy, and it’s an honor to present an exhibition that builds on that strength during the new museum’s inaugural year.”
From the 1940s through the 1970s, amid booming markets for Kodak snapshots and photojournalism, photography began to take root within higher education. White, Siskind, and Callahan were among the first generation of college-level photography teachers, developing models of photographic education during the GI Bill era that quickly spread across colleges and universities in the U.S. While achieving critical success through books, exhibitions, and museum acquisitions, these artists also helped catalyze the creation of academic programs, publishing ventures, and professional societies that defined the postwar photographic landscape.
Highlights of the exhibition include a reconstruction of White’s Slow Dance, a projected sequence of color slides performed for live audiences in the late 1960s and 1970s, as well as materials from magazines and journals ranging from Popular Photography and Aperture to poetry publications and The Black Photographers Annual. The exhibition also traces the expansive networks shaped by these photographers, featuring works by more than 40 additional artists, from Alfred Stieglitz and Dorothea Lange to Anthony Barboza and Donna-Lee Phillips.
The Princeton University Art Museum is open daily at the heart of Princeton’s campus. Admission is free. For more information, visit artmuseum.princeton.edu