Framing Time unites several influential photographers from the Albany Museum of Art’s permanent collection whose work spans nearly a century, offering a rich exploration of photography as both an art form and a mode of expression. From modernist documentation to surreal portraiture and deeply personal narrative, this exhibition highlights the evolving language of the photographic image.
At the core of the exhibition is the pursuit of the “decisive moment,” exemplified by Henri Cartier-Bresson, whose intuitive timing captured the poetry of everyday life. The realism of portraits by Bernice Abbot and Manuel Álvarez Bravo each reflects a commitment to witnessing their famed sitters with clarity and nuance. Barbara Morgan, celebrated for her pioneering dance photography, brings dynamic movement into stillness; her collaborations with Martha Graham and other modern dancers capture the expressive force of the human body in motion.
Duane Michals and Philippe Halsman break from photographic convention through inventive narrative, and often surreal imagery, transforming the photograph into a vehicle for storytelling. Louise Dahl-Wolfe redefined fashion photography with natural light and modern elegance, while Jessica Hines uses photography to navigate memory, deep trauma, and personal history. Contemporary voices such as Jack Ledbetter and Paul G. Beswick bring fresh approaches to abstraction and figureless scenes, underscoring photography’s continued evolution.