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The Pharaoh's Photographer: Harry Burton, Tutankhamun, and the Metropolitan's Egyptian Expedition
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More about This Exhibition
When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon opened the tomb of the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun in 1922, the spectacular find was captured in stunning and evocative detail by Harry Burton (1879–1940), the outstanding archaeological photographer of his day. This fall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents some sixty photographs—primarily by Burton—made between 1918 and 1939, documenting the excavation of King Tutankhamun's tomb and other major archaeological finds in Egypt. The gelatin silver prints, which come from the photographic archives of the Department of Egyptian Art, have never been shown publicly.
On view through December 30, "The Pharaoh's Photographer: Harry Burton, Tutankhamun, and the Metropolitan's Egyptian Expedition" presents the photographs in a dual role—as important historical documents and as works of art in their own right. Early film footage taken by Burton in the 1920s is also being shown.
This exhibition complements "Along the Nile: Early Photographs of Egypt," organized by the Museum's Department of Photographs, on view concurrently in The Howard Gilman Gallery.
More about the Objects on View
More about Harry Burton and the Metropolitan's Egyptian Expedition
More about Burton's Film Footage
Educational Programs
Exhibition Organizers and Credits
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More about the Objects on View
"For Egyptologists, Harry Burton's photographs are among the great treasures of the Museum," commented Catharine Roehrig, curator in the Department of Egyptian Art. "They constitute a complete photographic record of dozens of decorated tombs as they were preserved in the early 20th century and provide an invaluable record of the Museum's excavations."
In addition to their documentary value and inherent beauty, Malcolm Daniel, associate curator and administrator in the Department of Photographs and co-organizer of the exhibition with Ms. Roehrig, finds connections between Burton's photographs and much photography that followed. "Although unintended, such associations are not altogether accidental," he explained. "Many artists from the 1920s to the present have used their cameras to examine our own civilization as a future archaeologist might, employing the strategies of exhaustive documentation and deadpan presentation developed by photographers like Burton." Throughout the exhibition, labels by Ms. Roehrig and Mr. Daniel provide a dialogue regarding the subject and meaning of the photographs on display.
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More about Harry Burton and the Metropolitan's Egyptian Expedition
Having worked as both a photographer of Italian paintings and as an excavation director in Egypt, Harry Burton was hired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1914 to make a photographic record of ancient Egyptian monuments at Thebes—including architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings—and to serve as the official photographer for the Museum's excavation team. His ability to convey the atmosphere of archaeological discovery was unsurpassed, whether in portrait-like images of Egyptian coffins or in the poignant scene of a carefully laid-out funerary offering.
When the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, the Museum's Egyptian Expedition offered the services of its staff to Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, and Burton spent the next eight years photographing the tomb and its treasures—some of his best-known work.
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More about Burton's Film Footage
In the early 1920s, Burton learned to operate a motion picture camera, producing some of the earliest documentary film footage of life in the Nile valley. On continuous view in the exhibition is a short program of this work, including footage documenting the Museum's Egyptian Expedition, the removal of objects from Tutankhamun's tomb, and scenes of daily life in Egypt.
 A sample of Harry Burton's early documentary film footage is available online.
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Educational Programs
The Metropolitan Museum is offering a variety of programs in conjunction with the exhibition. These include a public lecture, gallery tours, films, a teacher workshop, and a series of off-site events. Consult the online calendar for a listing of programs organized by date.
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Exhibition Organizers and Credits
The exhibition is organized by Catharine H. Roehrig, curator, Department of Egyptian Art, and Malcolm Daniel, associate curator and administrator, Department of Photographs. Exhibition design is by Michael Langley, exhibition designer; graphic design is by Barbara Weiss, graphic designer; and lighting is by Zack Zanolli, lighting designer, all of the Museum's Design Department.
Because of the importance of these works as documents of the Museum's excavations and in the history of Egyptology, as well as their artistic merit and their deserved place in the history of photography, the Department of Egyptian Art and the Department of Photographs have collaborated on the exhibition.
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