MOCA
The Getty CenterThe Getty Center quadrupled the space for its world-renowned photography collection with the 2006 opening of the 7,000-square-foot Center for Photography. Drawing from the museum’s 65,000 prints, the Getty Center has hosted more than 100 exhibitions showcasing various aspects of the collection, which is known for its depth of works from important photographers. The collection — already one of the world’s most impressive — continues to grow and in 2009 received a record number of donated photographs. The department, notable as the only Getty division to collect post-1900 non-Western art, is currently expanding its holdings of Asian and contemporary prints. Visit www.getty.edu to learn about current photography exhibitions.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)
Many of MOCA’s permanent photography highlights are part of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Photography Collection, which contains several extraordinary series of works by some of the most esteemed postwar documentary photographers, including Diane Arbus, Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand. MOCA also owns 183 prints by Max Yavno, a Los Angeles photographer known for his documentation of Californian society in the mid-19th century. Yavo’s estate recently made another significant financial donation to MOCA, which will help the museum continue building its collection.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
True to LACMA’s mission as an encyclopedic museum, its Wallis Annenberg Photography Department focuses on a broad spectrum of postwar international works (although some photographs date back to the medium’s inception). So, if you’re on the hunt for a specific photographer, genre, subject or process, you’re likely to discover it at LACMA. In 2008 the museum acquired The Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection, which contains 3,500 prints and includes noteworthy works from several masters, including Ansel Adams, Julia Margaret Cameron and Edward Weston.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington's collection of 500,000 historical prints and negatives, dating from 1850 to 1950, provide extraordinary documentation of the development of the American West. The photographs depict scenes from iconic events, including the Civil War, as well as humble images from family photo albums. The Huntington also houses several collections focusing on 20th-century Los Angeles and California. Select photographs from the permanent collection are routinely on view during The Huntington’s various exhibitions, and scholars and researchers can make arrangements to view specific images.
Los Angeles Public Library
Thanks to a long history of collecting as well as several major gifts, the Los Angeles Central Public Library boasts an astounding photography collection, most of which documents historical life and landscapes in Los Angeles and Southern California. To mark the city’s bicentennial, Security Pacific Bank donated 250,000 photographs dating from the turn of the century to 1968. The library’s Shades of L.A. collection provides a look into the lives of local residents with its 10,000 images chosen from family albums. Additionally, the library is home to the photo archives of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, a prominent West Coast newspaper throughout much of the 20th century.
