The collectible moment: catalogue of photographs in the Norton Simon Museum

Abstract

Before the late 1960s, few museums or collectors acquired photographs or considered the medium as an art form. The moment arrived, however, when photography's profile ascended and the medium began to gain widespread acceptance in the art world as an art form engaged with issues that were central to contemporary art. This was precisely the moment of greatest growth for the collection presented here. This catalogue publishes for the first time the 548 photographs in the Norton Simon Museum of Art collection, more than 90 per cent of which were acquired during that fascinating moment of transition in the history of photography, 1969 to 1974. In The Collectible Moment Therese Mulligan outlines the character, quality, and importance of the Norton Simon collection, and Gloria Williams Sander explores the history of the Museum's photography department in the context of the local art organizations in general and community of photographers specifically. First-person recollections by a number of important figures in the world of photography provide immediate and vivid accounts of the period and the photo artists of this important historical moment.