Walker Evans

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Torn Movie Poster, 1930.Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975) Gelatin silver print; 16 x 10.9 cm (6 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.).Ford Motor Company Collection.Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.59)

More about This Exhibition The first comprehensive retrospective of the celebrated American photographer Walker Evans (1903–1975)—who made an unprecedented study of American culture for nearly half a century, from the late 1920s through the early 1970s—was on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from February 1 through May 14, 2000. "Walker Evans" presented 175 vintage photographs, including his renowned images of Alabama cotton farmers, African-American churches in South Carolina, and New York subway riders, drawn from public and private collections in the United States and Canada. The exhibition featured newly available material from the Walker Evans Archive, a vast collection of the artist's negatives and papers acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1994. "Walker Evans's compelling images of Americans and American life convey masterfully the poetic resonance of the ordinary as transformed by a personal artistic vision," said Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum. "With keen intellect, astounding visual acuity, and superb technical skill, he captured for us the very text and texture of 20th-century America." The exhibition was made possible by Prudential Securities. More about Walker Evans The Walker Evans Archive Exhibition Publications Educational Programs Travel Itinerary

More about Walker Evans
Reacting against the Pictorialist tradition of Stieglitz, Steichen, and others of the preceding generation of photographers, Evans banished all artiness and artifice from his practice and let the subject—be it a West Virginia coal miner, a roadside vegetable stand in Alabama, or a torn movie poster on Cape Cod—reveal itself directly to the viewer with exquisite candor. He recorded everyday life in many forms—popular culture, the iconography of commerce and consumerism, the automobile and its impact on the landscape, new poverty, old wealth, and everything in between.

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The Walker Evans Archive
The exhibition also featured a wide variety of previously unseen materials from the Walker Evans Archive, including family picture albums, diaries from the 1930s, letters written to and by Evans, and selections from his personal collections of signs and postcards.

The conservation of the Walker Evans Archive has been made possible through the generous support of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation as part of the Save America's Treasures program.

Additional conservation support has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Henry J. Nias Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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Exhibition Publications
"Walker Evans" was accompanied by two books: a monograph with contributions by Maria Morris Hambourg, curator-in-charge, and by Jeff L. Rosenheim, assistant curator, both in the Metropolitan Museum's Department of Photographs, published by Princeton University Press; and an anthology of materials from the Walker Evans Archive, including Evans's short stories, important correspondence and criticism, and selections from his forty thousand negatives, published by Scalo Publishers. Both publications are available in the Metropolitan Museum's bookstore and the online Met Store.

The exhibition catalogue was made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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Educational Programs
A number of educational programs were offered in conjunction with the exhibition, including lectures, feature and documentary films, gallery talks, and programs for students and teachers. A printed guide for students was also available.

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Travel Itinerary
Following its New York presentation, "Walker Evans" traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from June 2 to September 12, 2000 and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from December 17, 2000 to March 4, 2001.

The exhibition was curated by Jeff L. Rosenheim, assistant curator, and designed by Daniel Kershaw, exhibition designer.

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