Artist's Choice: Photographs

The photographs in this focus exhibition all belong to the artist and collector Judy Glickman Lauder, who has spent her life immersed in photography. She is an acclaimed photographer herself, yet her joy in the medium began during her childhood, when she would model for her father, Irving Bennett Ellis. Lauder began collecting photographs over 40 years ago, visiting the studios of other artists whenever possible and finding community and friendship through photography—both as an artist and an admirer of the works of others. An active participant in the Maine Photographic Workshops (now the Maine Media Workshops) in Rockport, she began swapping photographs with friends she met there in the 1970s and '80s. As a result, one notable aspect of her collection is that it includes art by many of the Workshops' most illustrious alumni.

Artist's Choice presents highlights from Lauder's collection, including prints of some of the most celebrated images of the 20th century. They are mostly, but not exclusively, American, and many works were made either in Maine or in her home state of California. Every collector chooses a path by which to build a collection, ranging from exploring one particular area of art history to offering a comprehensive historical sweep. Lauder's collection is unified by virtue of her interest in the way that photography is closely linked to the human condition in the modern area. While many works in Lauder's collection display dramatic formal properties such as intense contrasts of light and dark, they all convey her profound interest in humanity and suggest a highly personal approach to this most modern of media.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

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