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Temple of Edfu
1867 · Albumen silver print from paper negative
Image: 31.4 x 41 cm (12 3/8 x 16 1/8 in.)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture
Gustave Le Gray
Artist
PrintmakingPhotography
Representation
None documented
4
Institutional Exhibitions
131
Works in Collection
169
Assets Indexed
0
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
90%
Profile Completeness
Cultural Positioning
Movements
- • Photography
Related Artists
No edges recorded
Influence Graph
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Selected Institutional Exhibitions
View all exhibitions →No image
Before Photography: Painting and the Invention of Photography
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1981
No image
Reinstallation of the Collection
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1980
No image
Edward Steichen Photography Center Reinstallation
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1979
No image
Roots of French Photography
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1949–1950
About
Why this artist matters now
Gustave Le Gray was a French photographer and painter who pioneered the use of collodion wet plate photography in the 1850s. He developed innovative printing techniques, particularly the waxed paper negative process, which allowed for greater tonal subtlety and archival stability. His seascapes and architectural photographs, made primarily between 1850 and 1860, are marked by dramatic skies and compositional precision that elevated photography to fine art status. Le Gray's technical innovations and aesthetic ambitions established foundations for photographic practice that extended well beyond his lifetime.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago
Graph relationships
Taste overlap and adjacency
Movement
Photography
Medium
Printmaking
Related Artists
12 in graph
Institutional
Museum Collections
Canonical record
Artworks (131)
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Images
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Adjacent in the graph
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Record
Movements and affiliations
Institutional
Representation & Collections
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
In collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
National Gallery of Art
Market
Auction sale history
Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction
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