New York, New York: Photographs from the Collection

September 6 - December 9, 2022
Emily Lowe Gallery
Susannah Ray, Guest Curator

New York, New York. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. Gotham. The Naked City...Iconic names to describe an iconic metropolis, a city of myth and legend, where dreams rise as high as skyscrapers and can fall just as far. Yet beyond the silhouetted skyline is a place where New Yorkers actually live, work, love, struggle, and survive.

These photographs from the Hofstra University Museum of Art collection capture New York City in its infinite complexity and variety, not only celebrating the city's iconic architecture, but reveling in its everyday streets and signage, authentic faces, and dynamic street scenes. The black-and-white images were made over a span of 75 years, from 1932 to 2008, yet are unified through the use of monochrome, creating connections between disparate decades. While the photographers are not all native New Yorkers, they are inheritors of this miraculous city, dedicated to seeking its intricacies, grandeur, joy, and hardships. Their distinct visions unfold in New York's ever-changing landscape, chronicling a city that reinvents itself on a daily basis.

View interactive PDF of Exhibition Catalog

Funding has been provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Press Release: Photographs Celebrate Iconic New York City Imagery

Image
34 Leonard St. formerly Provenzano Garage

Donna Ferrato (American, b.1949), 34 Leonard St. formerly Provenzano Garage, 2007, from the portfolio Tribeca, 10013 Pigment on fiber print 26 x 20.5 in., Hofstra University Museum of Art, gift of Susan and Steven Ball, HU2014.20.5

 

Please click through this album to view a sample of featured works.

Related Programs

IN-PERSON PUBLIC PROGRAM
Fall Exhibition Reception
Thursday, September 8, 2022, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Emily Lowe Hall, Behind Emily Lowe Hall, South Campus

Join us in celebrating the opening of New York, New York: Photographs from the Collection and Off the Press.

Light refreshments will be available.
Admission is free. RSVP to 516.463.5672

IN-PERSON PUBLIC PROGRAM
Curator's Gallery Tour
Thursday, October 6, 2022, 4-5 p.m.
Emily Lowe Gallery, Behind Emily Lowe Hall, South Campus

Join Susannah Ray, guest curator of New York, New York: Photographs from the Collection, for a curator-led tour of the exhibition. She will share her insights and thoughts about the photographs she selected.

Admission is free. RSVP to 516.463.5672

VIRTUAL PUBLIC PROGRAM
Second Fridays: Cityscapes – 20th Century Photographs of New York City

This program highlights a selection of photographs of New York City throughout the 20th century from the 1930s to 2000s, focusing on the built environment including images of architecture and transportation – program recorded November 12, 2021

For more information or to register for Museum events please call (516) 463-5672 or see our event calendar.

Gallery Location and Hours

Emily Lowe Gallery
Behind Emily Lowe Hall, South Campus

Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. • Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.