Light Borne in Darkness: Photography Highlights from the Permanent Collection

The new Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts is a 10,000-square-foot space devoted to a global array of photography, film, video installation, and media art. Unparalleled in scope, it heralds the growing importance of photography and media art both as art forms and as anchors of the collections. As the Museum’s first space dedicated to the light-based media, the Herzfeld Center makes Milwaukee a destination for photography and film audiences nationwide.

The inaugural exhibition, Light Borne in Darkness, presents highlights from the Museum’s photography Collection, shown together for the first time. Visitors can discover the history of the medium through its most important masters, including Edward Steichen, whose Pool, Milwaukee (ca. 1899), launched his development as a photographer; Alfred Stieglitz, considered the father of American photography; Wisconsin natives Lewis Hine and Ray Metzker; American masters Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, Lorna Simpson and Stephen Shore; iconic works by Walker Evans, Louis Faurer, Robert Frank, Paul Graham, and William Klein.