Center for Creative Photography Acquires Nine Photography Archives
Untitled b from the series Riding 1st Class on the Titanic, 1974-1998, by Nathan Lyons
The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona has acquired nine significant photography archives, marking one of the most substantial expansions of its holdings in recent years.
The donated archives represent a cross-section of 20th and 21st century photographic practices, representing the legacies of Laura Aguilar, Jack Dykinga, Jody Forster, Frank Gohlke, Mark Klett, Nathan Lyons, Stephen Marc, Patrick Nagatani, and Susan Wood. Their work joins the CCP’s holdings which include the archives of Ansel Adams, W. Eugene Smith, David Hume Kennerly, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Robert Heinecken, and many others.
“These remarkable archives expand the creative and intellectual constellation that makes the Center for Creative Photography one of the foremost photography institutions in the world,” said Todd J. Tubutis, CCP Director. “Each archive contains not only prints of iconic images but also valuable documentary materials such as correspondence, notebooks, teaching materials, and working proofs that illuminate a photographer’s full creative evolution. As an extraordinary group, these important acquisitions strengthen the connective tissue that defines the history of photography in the United States.”
Some materials from these new archives have already arrived at CCP, while others are expected to be delivered and processed over the next several years. Access for researchers will follow processing by archivists at the CCP which holds more than 300 archives of photographers, scholars, galleries, and organizations, and a collection of around 120,000 fine prints alongside an extensive oral history collection.
“Ansel Adams was an exhibiting artist at the University of Arizona in 1974 when he was approached by the president of the university Dr. John P. Schaefer about his archive, and the two set in motion a relationship that would result in the creation of CCP,” said Rebecca Senf, CCP Chief Curator and Adams’ scholar. “The Center’s DNA is an institution created by an artist for other artists, and this ethic continues to inform our work at every level.”
