An Alternative History of Photography

Photographs from the Solander Collection

“A nation is made up of and defined by its people, and, as such, how those people are represented through photography is crucial to a people's understanding of themselves.”

— Martyn Ewoma, artist and critic

An Alternative History of Photography at The Photographers' Gallery, London, 2022

An Alternative History of Photography at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 2021

Virginia Oldoïni, Countess of Castiglione and Pierre-Louis Pierson ,"The Sultana (La Sultane)", 1865

Valie Export, "Expectation (Erwartung)", 1976

William Henry Fox Talbot, "Effigy of Sir Walter Scott’s Favourite Dog Maida, by the Side of the Hall Door at Abbotsford", 1844

Helen Stuart, "Portrait of Maori Woman", 1885

Maker Unknown, "Maharaja with Tiger", c. 1890

Margaret Watkins, "Untitled (Milk Bottle in Sink)", 1923

Alfred Stieglitz, "Poplars, Lake George", 1932

Lang Jingshan, "Majestic Solitude", 1934

Malick Sidibé, "Untitled (Two Men)", 1974

Ram Chand, "Portrait of a Couple", 1970s

Maker Unknown, "Backdrop from a portrait studio, Bihar", 1970s–80s

William Eggleston, "Untitled (Greenwood, Mississippi)", 1973

Francesca Woodman, "Sloan, Providence, Rhode Island", 1976

The history of photography is often told as a chain of relationships connecting one great maker to the next. However, the real history of photography is much more complicated: it is a vast collection of interconnected stories stretching from East Asia to West African, from New Zealand to Uzbekistan and a complex interchange of fine art, scientific, anthropological, documentary, and amateur traditions forged by women and men alike.

Featuring over 130 works from the Solander Collection, An Alternative History of Photography invites us to look again at well-known works and new discoveries by major artists alongside forgotten greats, regional champions and unknown artists.

Unexpected images by legendary figures including Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Man Ray, Ansel Adams, and Edward Weston are seen alongside those of Helen Stuart and John Lindt, early, self-trained practitioners Lady August Mostyn and Major Francis Greeley, and African studio photographers Sanlé Sory, Michel Kameni, and Malick Sidibé. The exhibition contains many rarities and "firsts" and spans photography's early decades with linchpin works by Sir John Herschel, William Henry Fox Talbot, Hippolyte Bayard, and Julia Margaret Cameron.

In addition to providing a touchstone for conversations about new perspectives in art history, An Alternative History of Photography engages with educational themes including colonialism, gender, class, privilege and racial and ethnic identity.

All works in this exhibition come from the Solander Collection. Photographs are vintage (made within a few years of the negative) except as noted.

WORKS
130-150 photographs

DIMENSIONS
See checklist below.

SPACE REQUIREMENTS
300 linear feet (100 linear meters)

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Curator available for lectures and panel discussions.

EXHIBITOR RESOURCES
Accompanying exhibition catalog available.

INQUIRIES
exhibitions@curatorial.org | 626.577.0044

FEE
Please inquire.

VENUES
The Photographers’ Gallery | London, United Kingdom
October 6, 2022 – February 9, 2023

Royal Ontario Museum | Toronto, Canada
August 14, 2021 – January 16, 2022

ABOUT THE SOLANDER COLLECTION

Dedicated to the enjoyment and understanding of photographic art in all its forms, the Solander Collection has a special emphasis on international traditions, under-represented and forgotten artists, ethnic diversity and women. The aim of the collection is to broaden the understanding of photography as inclusive and democratic.

CURATOR BIOGRAPHY

Phillip Prodger is Executive Director of Curatorial Exhibitions and former Head of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London.