Join guest curator Frances Dorenbaum for a special tour of Hypervisibility: Early Photography and Privacy in North America, 1839–1900.

About the Exhibition

Given the current ubiquity of cameras and the broad circulation of photographs in this digital age, photography can be understood as a threat to privacy. But even in its earliest forms—from daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, and stereographs to commercial advertising—the medium triggered both excitement and concerns about heightened visibility. Photography carried various risks and rewards based on gender, race, class, and disability. This exhibition considers some of those aspects as it traces the fascinating interrelated and overlooked histories of photography and privacy in the nineteenth century.

This exhibition draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Admission is always free.

Gallery Hours

Wednesday: 12–8 pm

Thursday–Saturday: 12–6 pm

Sunday–Tuesday: Closed

Free Exhibition Tours

Tuesdays: Tours by appointment

Wednesday–Friday: Drop-in, 1:30pm

Image Credit:

Édouard de Beaumont, Prises... Au Daguerréotype. Ah!... Clarisse... Vois donc cette grande machine... On dirait qu’il y a un œil qui nous regarde!, 1859, lithograph with applied colour (facsimile). Courtesy of the George Eastman Museum, Gift of Eastman Kodak Company, ex-collection Gabriel Cromer