Eyes of a Nation: A Century of American Photography, was drawn from MOPA’s permanent collection, looking at the rich history of American photography by artists working in the 1870s-1970s. Eyes of a Nation explored the groundbreaking movements and photographers who helped shape photography at an important time in the development of our country.

The exhibition presented an important story of American photography focused on social reform, artistic expression, and the dramatic political and cultural changes experienced during that time. Eyes of a Nation considered the aesthetic growth of photography as it developed into an art form, while presenting the unique power of the medium to document and inform visitors with compelling images.

Artists included in the exhibition:

Pictorialism : Anne Brigman, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Gertrude Kasebier, George Seely, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Clarence White,

Modernism : Berenice Abbott, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Edward Weston

Landscape : Ansel Adams, Thomas Barrow, Frank Gohlke, William Henry Jackson, Stephen Shore, Paul Strand, Carleton Watkins, Brett Weston, David Wing

Artistic Lens : Berenice Abbot, Ruth Bernhard, Harry Callahan, Barbara Houghton, John Pfahl, Aaron Siskind, Arthur Tress, Brett Weston, Minor White

The Urban Experience : Berenice Abbott, Harry Callahan, Roy DeCarava, John Gutmann, William Klein, Helen Levitt, Lou Stoumen, Weegee, Garry Winogrand

Social Documentary : Larry Clark, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, Leon Levinstein, Charles Moore, Charles Pratt, Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn