{"id":1946234,"date":"2026-05-20T20:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946234"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:59:10","slug":"virginia-museum-of-fine-arts-announces-gift-of-nearly-2000-photographs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946234","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Announces Gift of Nearly 2000 Photographs"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026_357_v1_TD_202604_ccc1b1.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe Viginia Museum of Fine Arts has announced a donation of nearly 2000 photographs from the Joy of Giving Something Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the photographic arts. The gift comprises works spanning the 19th century and the present day by more than 450 artists.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe photographs come from the holdings of financier and former Dreyfus Corporation chief Howard Stein (1926\u20132011), who began collecting photography in the 1980s. A notable underwriter of photography exhibitions and books, Stein started the Joy of Giving Something Foundation (JGS) with his wife Janet in 1998 to advance art and educational programming in the field.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2017, JGS began donating works from Steins\u2019s collection to selected museums and universities, among them Syracuse University, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of the City of New York. In 2023 it gave the VMFA group of photographic portfolios and series, including Paul Strand\u2019s Photographs of Mexico<\/em> (1940) and Larry Clark\u2019s Tulsa<\/em> (1980).<\/p>\n

\n\tThe present gift represents most of the foundation\u2019s remaining collection. Among its highlights are prints by nineteenth-century photographers Eug\u00e8ne Atget and Nadar; modernist works by Alfred Stieglitz, Dora Maar, L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Moholy-Nagy, and Man Ray; and documentary photography by Berenice Abbot, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Mary Ellen Mark. Contemporary pieces include works by Adam Fuss, David Goldblatt, Gilles Peress, Fazal Sheikh, and Rosalind Fox Solomon. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe donation also comes with a grant to support the cataloging and housing of the collection. As part of major expansion and renovation project, the VMFA is planning five new photography galleries, which are scheduled to open in 2027.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThrough its breadth and depth, this gift significantly elevates the museum\u2019s standing as a center for the study and presentation of photography,\u201d said Dr. Sarah Kennel, VMFA\u2019s Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper. \u201cIt opens new directions for future collecting\u2014particularly through greatly expanded holdings of 19th- and early 20th-century photography\u2014and will serve as a cornerstone for exhibitions and rotations in the new photography galleries, offering visitors a richer and more inclusive view of the medium\u2019s history across multiple voices and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, 13 iconic works from JGS\u2019s gift to the museum.<\/p>\n