Photography's First Century

Through more than 150 images, this book traces the history of photography in France from the 1840s to the 1940s

Drawn from the holdings of the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris, one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of photographs, the more than 150 images showcased in this book tell the story of the first hundred years of photography in France, from the rise of the Daguerreotype and the calotype in the 1840s to the age of modernism in the interwar period. Among the major artists included are Henri Le Secq, Gustave le Gray, Felix Tournachon (Nadar), Edouard Baldus, Louis-Emile Durandelle, Eugene Atget, Sonia Delaunay, Andre Kertesz, Rogi Andre, Man Ray, and Brassai. The beautifully reproduced prints were chosen by Sylvie Aubenas, director of the Department of Prints and Photography and one of the senior scholars in the field, and Flora Triebel, an expert in photographs of the nineteenth century; both contribute insightful essays and detailed entries to the book, which will also include a preface by Gilles Pecout, president of the Bibliotheque nationale de France, a foreword by Kimbell Art Museum director Eric M. Lee, a technical glossary, a chronology, and a selection of key texts from the history of the photograph in France.

Distributed for the Kimbell Art Museum

Exhibition Schedule:

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

(October 4, 2026-January 31, 2027)