BOSTON (December 20, 2024)— The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) has acquired 38 photographs by Robert Frank (1924-2019), one of the most important and influential photographers of the 20th century. These works represent the moment in 1949 when Swiss-born Frank returned to Europe following two years in New York City, with new perspectives and inspiration. In Paris, he observed and immortalized often unexpected scenes, while projecting abstract emotions and deep reflection onto Parisian objects and cityscapes, earning him the reputation of “a poet with a camera.” The acquisition includes 34 photographs gifted by The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation and an additional four purchased with funds donated by John and Cynthia Reed.

The newly acquired photographs will be on view in the exhibition Robert Frank: Mary’s Book, celebrating the centennial of the artist’s birth. Displayed alongside the personal scrapbook Frank made for his first wife, titled Mary’s Book, the photographs contextualize the album, providing a window into the artist’s creative process. Mary’s Book was created in 1949 for Mary Lockspeiser and consists of 75 small photographs with Frank’s written inscriptions. They reveal his appreciation for the poetic resonance of objects and spaces. Many of the photographs are devoid of people, although their presence is felt everywhere. Frank muses on the chairs and streets of Paris with messages interspersed for Mary. This one-of-a-kind, handmade album represents a formative moment in Frank’s career as he experiments with text and image juxtaposition. Mary's Book was donated to the MFA by Howard Greenberg Gallery in 2021 following the MFA’s 2018 purchase of the Howard Greenberg Collection of Photographs, funded by a major gift from the Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Charitable Trust.

“We are thrilled to add these important photographs to the Museum’s collection which give insight into Frank’s career while contributing to our ability to tell the story of artistic transatlantic connections,” said Kristen Gresh, Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs. “We are deeply grateful to The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation for their gift, and to John and Cynthia Reed for their donation that made this acquisition possible.”

Robert Frank: Mary’s Book will be on view from December 21, 2024 through June 22, 2025 in the MFA’s Herb Ritts Gallery and is included with general admission.

In addition to the acquisition of 38 photographs taken in Paris, the MFA has acquired the photo 4th of July, Jay, New York (1954) by Robert Frank. It was one of 83 pictures from Frank’s groundbreaking book, The Americans, published in a French edition in 1958 and in the U.S. in 1959. In the photo, Frank records the inhabitants of an Adirondack town celebrating the holiday in a public park, all dwarfed by a massive American flag. Tattered and translucent, the flag in this picture may well have inspired Frank’s regular repetition of stars and stripes throughout the book, along with other potent American symbols. This acquisition is supported by Barbara M. Marshall Fund, Horace W. Goldsmith Fund for Photography, and The Lane Collection—Saundra B. Lane Fund for Photography Acquisitions.

Publication

A publication based on Robert Frank: Mary’s Book will be published in early 2025, written by Kristen Gresh, the MFA’s Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs and Stuart Alexander, Director of Research, The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation. This is the first time Mary’s Book will be fully reproduced.

Celebrating a Photography Centennial at the MFA

The MFA has one of the most historic photography collections in the world, and 2024 marks an important anniversary––100 years of collecting photography as fine art. The Museum received a major gift of 27 photographs from the artist Alfred Stieglitz in 1924. This landmark donation of Stieglitz’s works made the MFA one of the first major American art museums to collect photographs as fine art, placing the institution at the forefront of photography collecting in the United States. Thanks to Georgia O’Keeffe, widow of Stieglitz, a second large gift of the photographer’s work was made in 1950. This provided the Museum with what is widely recognized as a near perfect overview of the influential photographer’s career.

To celebrate the Centennial, an exhibition of newly acquired large-scale photography (in two rotations) opened in June 2024 and will remain on view through June 2025 and a new publication titled Reframing Photography: Multiple Histories presents the range of works that were not originally made for museum walls as a way to feature the multiple narratives in the collection. In addition to Robert Frank: Mary's Book, the Museum presented the exhibition Barbara Bosworth: The Meadow (May 25–December 1, 2024).

Sponsors

Robert Frank: Mary's Book is supported by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations, the Shelly and Michael Kassen Fund and The Bruce and Laura Monrad Fund for Exhibitions.

About the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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