Lee Friedlander, New York City, 1966, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Trellis Fund, copyright Lee Friedlander, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery.
Drawn primarily from the National Gallery of Art's collection, the Serial Portrait exhibition features 20 artists who photographed the same subjects--friends, family or themselves--numerous times over days, months or years.
Starting in the early 20th century, some photographers began to question whether one image could adequately capture the complexity of an individual. Photographers began to use the camera serially, creating studies that sought to redefine the expressive possibilities of portraiture.
Francesca Woodman, House #3, Providence, Rhode Island, 1976, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection, copyright George and Betty Woodman, courtesy George and Betty Woodman.
Lee Friedlander (b. 1934, first image), Francesca Woodman (1958-1981, above image) and a number of other photographers in the exhibition have made serial self-portraits that explore the malleability of personal identity, photographing themselves as shadows, blurs or partial reflections.
Milton Rogovin, Mrs. Lopez and Six Confirmation Girls (Lower West Side series), 1974, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, gift of Dr J. Patrick and Patricia A. Kennedy, photograph copyright Milton Rogovin, courtesy Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona Foundation.
Milton Rogovin's (1909-2011) photography documents the social and personal histories of people over lifetimes. His best-known pictures, from the '70s, offer a visual legacy of a community spanning three decades--serial portraits of Lower West Side residents, Buffalo, New York.
On view through December 31. National Gallery of Art, on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, DC.
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