PETER J. COHEN COLLECTION
Peter J. Cohen is a New York-based collector of snapshots and vernacular photographs. From a modest start at a local flea market over two decades ago, Cohen’s stunning collection has since swelled to more than 60,000 photographs organized into 130 categories. Today Cohen continues acquiring discarded or disowned photographic material from dealers and eBay. The archive spans much of the twentieth century and encompasses many different processes and formats, including gelatin silver prints, cyanotypes, hand-tinted photos, chromogenic color prints, Polaroids, real photo postcards, and complete photo albums.
The term “snapshot” was popularized shortly after the invention of the Kodak box camera in the 1880s. The term came to describe photographs of everyday life using a handheld camera, often yielding unexpected discoveries that are results of intention, mistake, or chance. As “anonymous” photographs are rescued they become societal artifacts that collectively trace a history of private image making. These visual objects offer a deeper understanding of the amateur photographer’s engagement with the ubiquitous medium. Cohen’s collection celebrates the importance of snapshot photography—a rich form of expression and a cultural symbol for all.
Cohen has donated significant portions of his archive to about 40 museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, MFA Boston, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Morgan Library, and SFMoMA. See here for a comprehensive list of institutions.
While still avidly acquiring, Cohen’s goal is to continue donating the vast majority of his collection to museums and educational institutions during the coming years. He welcomes inquiries and visits from museum curators, editors, scholars, historians, and educators.
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1.Solo Exhibitions
- Jul 14, 2017 The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, Other People’s Pictures: Snapshots from the Peter J. Cohen Gift, 2017
- Nov 3, 2016 Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Where Do I Go From Here? Snapshots of Twentieth-Century Life, 2016
- Apr 4, 2016 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, An Anonymous Art: American Snapshots from the Peter J. Cohen Gift, 2016
- Mar 11, 2016 Cleveland Print Room, In Search of Red and Other Stories, 2016
- Jul 11, 2015 Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Unfinished Stories, 2015
- Nov 12, 2014 The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, In a Snap: The Art of Vernacular Photography, 2015
- Nov 2, 2012 David Lusk Gallery, You Shoulda Been There, 2012
- Oct 29, 2012 The Art Institute of Chicago, The Three Graces, 2011
- Sep 8, 2011 Morgan Lehmann Gallery, Vernacular Snapshots by Unknown Photographers, 2011
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2.Group Exhibitions
- Mar 30, 2019 SFMOMA, Snap + Share, 2019
- Feb 23, 2019 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Whitman, Alabama, 2019
- Feb 9, 2019 Tang Teaching Museum, Like Sugar, 2019
- Oct 11, 2018 Victoria & Albert Museum, V&A Photography Centre Grand Opening, 2018
- Sep 7, 2018 New Orleans Museum of Art, Past Present Future: Building Photography at the NOMA, 2018
- Aug 26, 2018 Detroit Institute of Arts, Lost & Found: Photographs from the DIA’s Collection, 2018
- Jul 27, 2018 RISD Museum, Collective Recollection, 2018
- Jul 11, 2018 Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, Radically Ordinary: Scenes from Black Life in America Since 1968, 2018
- Jun 2, 2018 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Unexpected Encounters, 2018
- May 18, 2018 Milwaukee Art Museum, Photographing Nature’s Cathedrals: Carleton E. Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, and H. H. Bennett, 2019
- Nov 18, 2017 The Art Institute of Chicago, Dress Codes: Portrait Photographs from the Collection, 2017
- Sep 8, 2017 Smith College Museum of Art, A History of Handwork: Photographs from the SCMA Collection, 2017
- Jul 29, 2017 Portland Art Museum, Representing: Vernacular Photographs of, by, and for African Americans, 2017
- Jun 3, 2017 Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Unwrapped: 100 Gifts for 100 Years, 2017
- Mar 19, 2017 Katonah Museum of Art, Picturing Love: Photography's Pursuit of Intimacy, 2017
- Feb 10, 2017 Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University, Changing Visions, 2017
- Dec 6, 2016 Columbus Museum of Art, Gathered: Snapshots from the Peter J. Cohen Gift and Works by Carmen Winant and Luke Stettner, 2016
- Sep 9, 2016 New Orleans Museum of Art, Something in the Way: A Brief History of Photography and Obstruction, 2016
- Jul 23, 2016 Victoria & Albert Museum, The Camera Exposed, 2016
- Jun 4, 2016 George Eastman Museum, Photography and America’s National Parks, 2016
- Jan 7, 2016 Transformer Station, Unfixed: The Fugitive Image, 2016
- Aug 15, 2015 Cincinnati Art Museum, Unknown Elements, 2015
- May 22, 2015 The Morgan Library & Museum, Hidden Likeness: Photographer Emmet Gowin at the Morgan, 2015
- Aug 4, 2014 Pier 24 Photography, Secondhand, 2014
- Feb 14, 2014 The Morgan Library & Museum, A Collective Invention: Photographs At Play, 2011
- Feb 19, 2012 Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Sports Show, 2012
Permanent Collections
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
The Art Institute of Chicago
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Cincinnati Museum of Art
Columbus Museum of Art
George Eastman Museum
Houston Museum of Fine Arts
Memphis Brooks Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Morgan Library
Museum of Modern Art
Nelson-Atkins Museum
New Orleans Museum of Art
Pier 24
Portland Art Museum
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
St. Louis Art Museum
Vassar College Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Victoria & Albert Museum
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