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Anne Brigman:
A Visionary in Modern Photography

John Hawley Olds LaGatta Gallery | Floor 3

This major retrospective exhibition rediscovers and celebrates the work of Anne Brigman (1869-1950), who is best known for her iconic landscape photographs made in the early 1900s depicting herself and other female nudes outdoors in the Sierra Nevada. Brigman’s photography was considered radical for its time. To objectify her own nude body as the subject of her photographs at the turn of the twentieth century was groundbreaking; to do so outdoors in a near-desolate wilderness setting was revolutionary. Although the term feminist art was not coined until nearly seventy years after Brigman made her first photographs, the suggestion that her camera gave her the power to redefine her place as a woman in society establishes her as an important forerunner in the field.

Brigman’s significance spanned both coasts: in Northern California, where she lived, she was known as a poet, a critic, a proponent of the Arts & Crafts philosophy, and a member of the Pictorialist photography movement. On the East Coast, her work was promoted by Alfred Stieglitz, who elected her as a fellow of the prestigious Photo-Secession. From 1903 to 1944 Anne Brigman maintained ongoing correspondence with Alfred Stieglitz, exchanging nearly 100 letters during this time. Brigman is also noted for her honest art criticism and opinioned voice on cultural and fine art topics, and as a published poet.

This exhibition, the largest ever undertaken, brings together over 300 works spanning the entirety of Brigman’s career from the collections of Michael Wilson and the Wilson Centre for Photography in London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the George Eastman Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, MoMA, New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and many private collections.

The exhibition is curated by Ann M. Wolfe, Andrea and John C. Deane Family Senior Curator and Deputy Director at the Nevada Museum of Art.

Due to its popularity, this previously sold-out book is now available in second edition. Co-published by the Nevada Museum of Art and Rizzoli Electa this 400-page, heavily illustrated book is a must have for lovers of photography, nature, and the High Sierra. Visit shop.nevadaart.org to purchase.

#ConfrontingTradition

Lead Sponsor

Wayne and Miriam Prim

Major Sponsors

The Bretzlaff Foundation; Carol Franc Buck Foundation; the Satre Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada; Louise A. Tarble Foundation

Sponsors

Carole K. Anderson; Barbara and Tad Danz; Nancy and Harvey Fennell | Dickson Realty; Nancy and Brian Kennedy; Mercedes-Benz of Reno, an AutoNation Company; Whittier Trust, Investment & Wealth Management

Supporting Sponsors

Brigid S. Barton; Denise Cashman; the Chica Charitable Gift Fund; Mimi Ellis-Hogan; Jan and David Hardie; the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; Keith and Sheila McWilliams; Eleanor and Robert Preger; Jenny and Garrett Sutton | Corporate Direct, Inc.; Lash and Gigi Turville

Additional Support

Kathie Bartlett; John C. Deane

Media Sponsors

Getaway Reno-Tahoe; KUNR Reno Public Radio; Reno News & Review; Reno-Tahoe International Airport; Tahoe Quarterly; The Believer powered by the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute; Western Art & Architecture

Installation
Views

Media

Past
Events

Talks
January 25, 2019 12 – 1 pm

"Laid Bare": Women Photographers and Land with Brett M. Van Hoesen

Talks
January 24, 2019 6 – 8 pm

SOLD OUT:Smoke Goddess: Judy Chicago on Land Art and the Desert, In Conversation with Philipp Kaiser

Talks
December 20, 2018 5 – 8:30 pm

Winter Solstice Yoga Celebration: An Homage to Anne Brigman

Talks
December 14, 2018 12 – 1 pm

Ann M. Wolfe on Laid Bare in the Landscape: The Legacy of Anne W. Brigman

Talks
December 7, 2018 12 – 1 pm

Docents in the Galleries: Anne Brigman

Talks
November 9, 2018 12 – 1 pm

Docents in the Galleries: Anne Brigman

Talks
November 3, 2018 5 – 7 pm

Anne: In Her Own Words

Talks
November 3, 2018 2 – 4 pm

Anne: In Her Own Words Matinee

Talks
October 26, 2018 12 – 1 pm

Docents in the Galleries: Anne Brigman

Talks
October 25, 2018 6 – 7 pm

Barbara Stein on Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of Science in the American West

Talks
October 20, 2018 6 – 8:30 pm

The Folk & The Lore: Wild Woman

Talks
October 6, 2018 11 am – 1:30 pm

Unseen: Anne Brigman Art Hike with Trails & Vistas: 11:00 AM Hike

Talks
October 6, 2018 10:30 am – 1 pm

Unseen: Anne Brigman Art Hike with Trails & Vistas: 10:30 AM Hike

Talks
October 6, 2018 10 am – 12:30 pm

Unseen: Anne Brigman Art Hike with Trails & Vistas: 10:00 AM Hike

Talks
October 6, 2018 9:30 am – noon

Unseen: Anne Brigman Art Hike with Trails & Vistas: 9:30 AM Hike

Ongoing Programs
October 4, 2018 5 – 7 pm

First Thursday: Members' Premiere

Talks
September 29, 2018 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Anne Brigman: The Symposium