Through the Lens: Visions of African American Experience, 1950-1970

This exhibition features over sixty works by seven photographers active during the civil rights era (1950-1970). Organized to underscore different artistic intentions and photographic approaches, Through the Lens highlights various aspects of African American experience during this time of tremendous social and political change.

Photographers Danny Lyon, Bruce Davidson, and Charles Moore bore witness to the activities and struggles of the civil rights movements as a means to effect social change. W. Eugene Smith, Gordon Parks and James Karales produced extended photo-essays that brought stories about the lives of ordinary African Americans to the national public. Drawing inspiration from music and literature, Roy DeCarava and Gordon Parks made original, creative photographs as purely artistic expressions.