Photographs

Photography is a foundational strength of The Block collection. Forming its core are works by 20th-century photographers based in the United States. These include major holdings of 1930s–40s social documentary works produced under the Farms Security and Works Progress Administrations by artists such as Esther Bubley, Arthur Rothstein, and John Vachon as well as a significant number of works by W. Eugene Smith, Edward Steichen, Andy Warhol, and Brett Weston. Images of Chicago and photographs by Chicago-based artists are also an area of strength, with works by Dawoud Bey, Alan Cohen, Mikki Ferrill, Latoya Ruby Frazier, and Laura Letinsky, among others. The contemporary collection is international in scope while encompassing an expansive view of American art; it includes works by Omar Victor Diop, Jess T. Dugan, Candida Höfer, David Levinthal, Shirin Neshat, Catherine Opie, Elle Pérez, Hank Willis Thomas, and Tseng Kwong Chi, to name a few.