The Chicago Stock Exchange (later 30 North LaSalle Building), 1893–94

John Szarkowski was an American photographer and curator who fundamentally shaped postwar photography through his work at the Museum of Modern Art, where he served as director of the photography department from 1962 to 1991. His curatorial vision emphasized the medium's formal properties and inherent aesthetic autonomy, moving photography away from documentary utility toward fine art recognition. Szarkowski's landmark 1966 exhibition 'The Photographer's Eye' and subsequent acquisitions and exhibitions established MoMA's photography collection as canonical. His critical writing and exhibition design made him the dominant arbiter of photographic taste in the second half of the twentieth century.

Ashland, WI, USA