George Eastman Museum Adds Over 900 Photos to Its Collection

The George Eastman Museum is home to one of the world’s oldest photography collections. It has now added more than 900 photos to the collection, thanks to purchases and donations made in 2025.

The museum’s Department of Photography holds everything from objects made before photography went public in 1839 to work produced today. It spans all major photographic processes, from early daguerreotypes to digital images. The collection is extra interesting because it covers a wide range of uses: everyday snapshots, fine art, scientific study, and documentary photography.

Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States. Its collection includes more than 450,000 photographs, 31,000 motion picture films, a significant collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, and a large library of materials related to photography and cinema.

New Ivorytypes in the Collection

New additions often target gaps in the collection. One example is a pair of ivorytypes donated by long-time supporter Donald K. Weber. First developed in the 1850s, the ivorytype process combined two prints from the same negative, hand-colored, waxed, and layered together to create a sense of depth. The museum already holds examples from various photographers who developed their own versions of the technique, and these two add to that group.

[Related reading: Watch: The George Eastman Museum shows us the historic salt process printing technique]

Works by Famous Photographers

The museum also received eighteen photos by Diane Arbus, donated by Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and bought a major work by Tseng Kwong Chi. Both additions reflect the ongoing effort to better represent significant photographers and movements. Works by Beaumont Newhall and Nathan Lyons, both former staff members at the institution, were also picked up this year.

Some of the new works are already headed for upcoming shows. Four photos by Wayne Miller will appear in Edward Steichen and the Garden in 2026, showing Steichen’s daily life and his interest in gardening. Works by Brett Weston, Milton Rogovin, and Carl Chiarenza will feature in a future Selections from the Collection display.

[Related reading: Life and work of Diane Arbus, one of the most inspirational and controversial American photographers]

Jamie M. Allen, Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Curator and Head of the Department of Photography, explained the logic behind choosing the additions:

“Through carefully considered additions to our holdings, we seek to expand the possibilities for understanding the photographic medium, making it accessible to our colleagues and the general public alike.

While we continue to build our holdings of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photography, which serve as the foundations of our collection, we also seek to document twenty-first-century uses of photography, from photojournalism to contemporary art. In 2025 we had amazing opportunities to add significant works from all periods of the medium’s history, filling gaps and bolstering our ability to tell expansive stories.”

[via PetaPixel; Image credits: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

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