Students Co-Curate Laura Gilpin Exhibition
An exhibition of vintage photographs by the American pictorialist photographer Laura Gilpin, as well as a selection of photographs given to her by friends and mentors, will be on view at the Bennington Museum, on Main Street in Bennington, from October 7 through December 15. The exhibition, Laura Gilpin and Her Circle: Gertrude Käsebier, Clarence H. White, and Clara Sipprell, is co-curated by students from faculty member Jonathan Kline’s spring 2017 course, "Laura Gilpin & The Platinum Print."
The exhibition is a unique opportunity to view vintage photographs, many of them platinum prints from the first half of the 20th century, by pictorialist photographers Gilpin, Kasebier, White, and Sipprell.
After Gilpin’s death in 1979, most of her negatives, photographs, and letters went to the permanent archive at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. However, three portfolios of her photographs, as well as photographs given to Gilpin by friends and mentors, were kept by her family—a selection of which will be on display in the exhibition.
Through her more than 50 years of work, Gilpin’s photographs drew their expressive power from her compassionate connection to her chosen subject and her earnest respect for the medium of photography.
“We hope this connection to her subjects is evident in our selection here, but also representative of the lasting friendship she cherished with some of the early 20th century’s greatest American photographers,” said Kline.
Join curator Jaime Franklin and faculty member Jonathan Kline for an opening reception (free to the Bennington College community) on Saturday, October 7, from 2:30-4:00 PM.
Related Exhibition: Laura Gilpin/Intrepid Woman, scheduled to open in Usdan Gallery at Bennington College on November 7, 2017.
Participating students: Chiara Brandi, Willa Dorn Lilien, Elana Mendelsohn, Lucy Perkins, Olivia Saporito, Ariana Sierzputowski, and Theodora Smith-Miller.