The Family in Photography | Spencer Museum of Art

Spencer Museum of Art

Info for

my portfolio logout

Exhibition

The Family in Photography

The Family in Photography

Stefanie Vigil, curator

December 6, 1997–March 22, 1998

North Balcony, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

This exhibition examines the evolution of images of the family from the 19th century to the present. It also explores the social changes that are encoded in images of the family. As the most important social instituting of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the family, and the values and beliefs shared by its members, are indicative of the values of society as a whole. This examination of photographs of the family offers an insightful look at how our ideas about ourselves have changed since the mid-nineteenth century.

Exhibition images

Works of art

portrait of young woman standing between two men — portrait of young woman standing between two men, circa 1850

portrait of couple — portrait of couple, circa 1850

portrait of two young girls — portrait of two young girls, circa 1855

portrait of man and woman, unknown maker — unknown maker

portrait of man and woman, circa 1850

portrait of woman and children, unknown maker — unknown maker

portrait of woman and children, circa 1850

portrait of young boy and girl, unknown maker — unknown maker

portrait of young boy and girl, circa 1855

Joseph Judd and Edith Stanley Pennell, Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell — Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell

Joseph Judd and Edith Stanley Pennell, 1899

Zero Mostell and Family, Max Waldman — Max Waldman

Zero Mostell and Family, circa 1962

U.S.A., Elliott Erwitt — Elliott Erwitt

U.S.A., 1964

Ricky Nelson and family, Diane Arbus — Diane Arbus

Ricky Nelson and family, 1971

The Poet's Family at Farringford, Oscar Gustav Rejlander — Oscar Gustav Rejlander

The Poet's Family at Farringford, circa 1863

portrait of Henry Aten, T. C. Mathewson — T. C. Mathewson

portrait of Henry Aten, 1865

Pauley Wedding, Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell — Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell

Pauley Wedding, 1901

La Stricte Intimité (Strict Intimacy), Robert Doisneau — Robert Doisneau

La Stricte Intimité (Strict Intimacy), 1945

Wedding, France, Gordon Parks — Gordon Parks

Wedding, France, 1951

Christmas at Hinky Dinky, Lincoln, Nebraska, James Alinder — James Alinder

Christmas at Hinky Dinky, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1971

untitled (boy standing in corner of his room), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (boy standing in corner of his room), circa 1970s

untitled (woman seated on unmade bed), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (woman seated on unmade bed), circa 1970s

untitled (girl standing in doorway), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (girl standing in doorway), late 1900s

untitled (children under coat), Diane Arbus; Neil Selkirk; Doon Arbus — Diane Arbus; Neil Selkirk; Doon Arbus

untitled (children under coat), circa 1955–1960

Jesse Among the Chickens, Sparta, Wisconsin, James Alinder — James Alinder

Jesse Among the Chickens, Sparta, Wisconsin, 1971

untitled (two boys in swim trunks), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (two boys in swim trunks), circa 1970s

In the Sprinkler, Auburndale, Mary Stuart Lang — Mary Stuart Lang

In the Sprinkler, Auburndale, 1987

Three in the Trees, Auburndale, Mary Stuart Lang — Mary Stuart Lang

Three in the Trees, Auburndale, 1988

Chicago #770, Harry Callahan — Harry Callahan

Chicago #770, 1950

Wife on Pillow, Emmet Gowin — Emmet Gowin

Wife on Pillow, circa 1967

Wife and Car, Emmet Gowin — Emmet Gowin

Wife and Car, 1971

J. B. M., Chester J. Michalik — Chester J. Michalik

J. B. M., 1968

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Gable (Arlene Francis and Martin Gable), Robert Benton — Robert Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Gable (Arlene Francis and Martin Gable), mid-late 1900s

Mr. and Mrs. Monte Kay (Diahann Carroll and Monte Kay), Robert Benton — Robert Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Monte Kay (Diahann Carroll and Monte Kay), 1962

Mr. and Mrs. Xavier Cugat (Abbie Lane and Xavier Cugat), Robert Benton — Robert Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Xavier Cugat (Abbie Lane and Xavier Cugat), mid 1900s

Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Hargitay (Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield), Robert Benton — Robert Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Hargitay (Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield), 1962

untitled (house and photograph), Jerry Norman Uelsmann — Jerry Norman Uelsmann

untitled (house and photograph), 1969

Forgotten Heritage, Jerry Norman Uelsmann — Jerry Norman Uelsmann

Forgotten Heritage, 1969

Room #1, Jerry Norman Uelsmann — Jerry Norman Uelsmann

Room #1, 1963

untitled, Jim Goldberg — Jim Goldberg

untitled, 1984

untitled, Jim Goldberg — Jim Goldberg

untitled, 1979

A Husband and Wife in the Woods at a Nudist Camp, NJ, Diane Arbus — Diane Arbus

A Husband and Wife in the Woods at a Nudist Camp, NJ, 1963

Share Croppers Family, Hale County, Alabama, Walker Evans; Evans Estate — Walker Evans; Evans Estate

Share Croppers Family, Hale County, Alabama, 1936

Woman and Children, Havana, Walker Evans — Walker Evans

Woman and Children, Havana, 1932

The family of a migratory fruit worker from Tennessee now camped in a field near the packinghouse at Winter Haven, Florida, Arthur Rothstein — Arthur Rothstein

The family of a migratory fruit worker from Tennessee now camped in a field near the packinghouse at Winter Haven, Florida, 1937

Knoxville, Tennessee, 1949, Marion Palfi — Marion Palfi

Knoxville, Tennessee, 1949, 1949

Harlem Document, Aaron Siskind — Aaron Siskind

Harlem Document, circa 1935

The da Silva Family at Dawn, Gordon Parks — Gordon Parks

The da Silva Family at Dawn, 1961

Tomoko and Mother in the Bath, W. Eugene Smith — W. Eugene Smith

Tomoko and Mother in the Bath, 1972

Jim Miller's House, Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell — Jon Blumb; Joseph Judd Pennell

Jim Miller's House, 1899

untitled (Ronald Reagan on TV), Bill Owens — Bill Owens

untitled (Ronald Reagan on TV), circa 1973

untitled (man holding baby), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (man holding baby), circa 1970s

Colorado Springs, Robert Adams — Robert Adams

Colorado Springs, 1968

Tract House, Colorado Springs, Robert Adams — Robert Adams

Tract House, Colorado Springs, 1970

Kansas, Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

Kansas, 1976

The Porter's Tree, Geoffrey L. Winningham — Geoffrey L. Winningham

The Porter's Tree, 1972

untitled (girl in bedroom holding clarinet), Mark Goodman — Mark Goodman

untitled (girl in bedroom holding clarinet), 1980s

Steve Wayne, Jr. at Graceland, Joe Kelly — Joe Kelly

Steve Wayne, Jr. at Graceland, 1979

Betsy and Kathleen, Howard Welford Casler — Howard Welford Casler

Betsy and Kathleen, 1942

Betsy and Kathleen, Howard Welford Casler — Howard Welford Casler

Betsy and Kathleen, 1942

Mother and Child, Howard Welford Casler — Howard Welford Casler

Mother and Child, 1942

untitled (woman bending over a child), Gertrude Stanton Käsebier — Gertrude Stanton Käsebier

untitled (woman bending over a child), 1899

Mother and Child, Gertrude Stanton Käsebier — Gertrude Stanton Käsebier

Mother and Child, 1897

untitled (Mrs. Hermine Turner, Son, and Daughter Mina), Gertrude Stanton Käsebier — Gertrude Stanton Käsebier

untitled (Mrs. Hermine Turner, Son, and Daughter Mina), circa 1910

untitled (woman holding a baby), Gertrude Stanton Käsebier — Gertrude Stanton Käsebier

untitled (woman holding a baby), circa 1900

My Friend Greg Died, Jon O'Neal — Jon O'Neal

My Friend Greg Died, 1985

Negro Sharecropper Family Working in Cotton Field, Georgia, Marion Post Wolcott — Marion Post Wolcott

Negro Sharecropper Family Working in Cotton Field, Georgia, circa 1938