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Explore the History of Photography & Film at the George Eastman Museum

posted by Teresa Farrell at 2018-12-28 06:03:00

 
In the Western New York city of Rochester, the home of renowned photographer and motion picture film pioneer George Eastman has been turned into The George Eastman Museum, a timeless display honoring the art of photography and film along with the man himself. Founded in 1947 as an independent nonprofit institution, the museum boasts the distinction of being the oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives in the world and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
 

The museum holds unparalleled collections—encompassing several million objects—in the fields of photography, cinema, and photographic and cinematographic technology, and photographically illustrated books, and is also a longtime leader in film preservation and photographic conservation. The photography collection alone includes more than 400,000 photos and artifacts from more than 8,000 photographers and counting.


The film collection is similarly impressive, with more than 28,000 films and more than 4 million posters, stills, and documents in its archives that encompass the medium’s history all the way back to its beginnings. The collection includes such treasures as the originally Technicolor negatives for Gone With the Wind and the Wizard of Oz, alongside titles from a broad array of famous names to grace the director’s chair. The Eastman Museum is also home to the Dryden Theatre, which can seat up to 500 viewers who come to enjoy the more than 300 films shown here annually.
 

In addition to its roster of films and photographs, the museum is also home to the leading collection of photographic and cinematographic technological artifacts in the world, which comes in at more than 16,000 pieces. And, of course, the namesake collection of Eastman himself, the George Eastman Legacy Collection, includes more than 200,000 records and artifacts relevant to the artist’s life, from house furnishings and decorative art pieces to Kodak advertising publications to manuscripts and books and, of course, photographs, film and video.  Many of these items still furnish the 1905-built mansion, which remains as a testament to the innovator, artist and philanthropist who called it home.
 

Docents offer tours of the galleries, mansion, and the expansive gardens, ready to shed some light on the historic items and images on display here. The museum plays host to talks from local experts and visiting artists and scholars on a regular basis, and also offers photography workshops that allow participants to learn hands-on about historic and alternative photographic processes. Live music is also a staple throughout the year, rounding out the artistic offerings of this one-of-a-kind institution. So whether it’s a chilly winter weekend or a bright summer day, there’s never a shortage of things to see and do at the George Eastman Museum.
 
 
PHOTO CREDITS

George Eastman portrait photo credit Pixabay
Eastman House exterior photo credit Dmadeo
Kodak Pony 135 Camera on Display photo credit Allen McGregor
Eastman dining room photo credit Arnob Alam
Elephant room photo credit MaxPixel

 

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