Upcoming Exhibitions

From the Bank of America Collection, this exhibition explores how twentieth-century photographers captured the power and personality of the modern era. Featuring portraits by Antony Armstrong-Jones, Richard Avedon, Yousuf Karsh, Gisèle Freund, and others, it examines the interplay between photographer, subject, and viewer in shaping cultural identity and celebrity. Each subject in this exhibition shares the common trait of celebrity status. Talent, beauty, social or political opinions, or rebellious behavior are several bases for earning their reputations and make these figures exciting and complex subjects. Each portrait mirrors the subjective viewpoint of its creator, the photographer, leveraging a unique, recognizable style and embedding subjective interpretations of the sitter within the image. Sometimes photographs are the catalyst for recognition or the creation of a public persona. Other times, a subject’s reputation is already established, so the photographer has the challenge of bringing that side or another out of a sitter who is seen in a particular way by the public. Influence & Identity invites you to explore the complexity of these portraits and discover the hidden stories of their subjects.