Cantor Arts Center & Anderson Collection Magazine | Spring - Summer 2023

This exhibition
offers an alternative
understanding of this
material by taking Bass-
Becking’s phrase as
its point of departure.
Most histories of 1930s
American photography
tend to view this work as
primarily documentary
in style and purpose. This exhibition contends that a key goal
for artists of this period was to use photography to ignite the
imagination, even while pursuing an increasingly transparent
approach that mirrored the world as they saw it. From the delicate
curve of a leaf to the jostle of a crowded city street, reality made
these photographers and their audiences dream.
This exhibition is curated by Josie
R. Johnson, PhD, the Capital
Group Foundation Curatorial
Fellow for Photography at the
Cantor Arts Center.
An accompanying publication features
reproductions of 83 objects from the
exhibition and a suite of short essays
by photography scholars affiliated with
Stanford University.
$30/$27 members
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Capital Group Foundation
Photography Collection Fund, the Kazak Acquisitions and Exhibitions
Support Fund, the Elizabeth K. Raymond Fund for Photography at the
Cantor Arts Center, the Hohbach Family Fund for Educational Outreach,
and the Mark and Betsy Gates Fund for Photography at the Stanford
Museum of Art. IMAGES: Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991),
Warehouse, Water and Dock Streets, 1936. Gelatin silver print. Cantor
Arts Center, Stanford University. Gift of Daniel Mattis, 1986.304 •
Marion Post Wolcott (American, 1910–1990), One of the Wilkins family making biscuits for dinner on cornshucking day
at Mrs. Fred Wilkins’ home near Tallyho, Granville County. North Carolina, 1939. Gelatin silver print. Cantor Arts Center,
Stanford University. Gift of Judith Hochberg and Michael Mattis, 1986.295 • Russell Lee (American, 1903–1986), Jim
Norris and Wife, Homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940. Dye transfer print. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford. University
Committee for Art Acquisitions Fund, 1984.176 • Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), Georgia O’Keeffe and Orville
Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937. Gelatin silver print. Cantor Arts Center. The Capital Group
Foundation Photography Collection at Stanford University, 2019.42.20. Used with permission of and © The Ansel
Adams Publishing Rights Trust
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EXHIBITION SPOTLIGHT