Photography and Abolition in the Age of Pictures

How photography was used by abolitionists to promote the antislavery causeAs the abolitionist movement gained momentum during the 1830s, photography emerged as a radical new form of pictorial representation. This book explores the ways that photography and the abolitionist movement coalesced between the 1830s and the 1860s in the struggle for social justice. The notion that photography recorded a subject truthfully, coupled with its relative affordability and accessibility, made it particularly appealing for abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Sumner, and Sojourner Truth, who used the medium to self-promote, fundraise, expand their community, and advance the antislavery cause itself. In addition to nineteenth-century photographs, this book features works by contemporary artists that look back to this period, including Dawoud Bey, Isaac Julien, Lorna Simpson, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carrie Mae Weems.This book:Provides a fresh perspective on an important period in US historyStages a dialogue between old and new photographsIs beautifully designed with a cloth cover, stamped title, and over 200 color imagesDistributed for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of ArtExhibition Schedule: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO(May 5–September 5, 2027) Cincinnati Art Museum(October 15, 2027–February 20, 2028)