Bassett and Steenbock Galleries
December 6, 1998 through
February 21, 1999

Parade - Hoboken, New Jersey
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

In 1955, Robert Frank set out to observe and photograph the United States. Supported by a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation, he traveled across the country for two years. The result was The Americans, a visionary work and a milestone in the history of photography. These 83 photographs will be on view at the Madison Art Center from December 6 through February 21. Organized by the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, the exhibition features one of only three complete Americans portfolios in existence, offering viewers a rare opportunity to see this masterpiece in its entirety.

Charleston, South Carolina
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

Though Swiss by birth, Frank traveled the world before settling in the United States in 1953. He eventually befriended the Beat poets (Jack Kerouac wrote the introduction to the book The Americans) and became one of the key visual artists to document this bohemian subculture in both photography and film, including the highly influential cinematic work Pull My Daisy. Like the Beats, Frank sought to reveal the profound tensions he saw in all strata of American society during the outwardly optimistic 1950s. His photographic journey encompasses rich and poor, black and white, north and south, offering a glimpse of what makes these people and places truly American.

Canal Street - New Orleans
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

Frank's revolutionary approach changed the face of photojournalism, and continues to influence artists today. Although Frank eventually moved away from photography to concentrate on film and video, The Americans remains a benchmark of his career. In the introduction to the highly popular book, which has been reprinted four times, Jack Kerouac sums up the artist's achievement:

Elevator - Miami Beach
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

"Robert Frank, Swiss, unobtrusive, nice, with that little camera that he raises and snaps with one hand he sucked a sad poem right out of America onto film, taking rank among the tragic poets of the world."

Political Rally - Chicago
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

Television Studio - Burbank, California
From The Americans, © Robert Frank

Funding for the Wisconsin presentation of Robert Frank--The Americans has been provided by J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc.; Steinhauer Charitable Trust; a grant from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, with additional funding from the Madison Community Foundation; the Exhibition Initiative Fund; the Madison Art Center's 1998-1999 Sustaining Benefactors; and a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.