An Eclectic Focus : Photographs from the Vernon Collection

Spanning the history of photography, the images found in the Marjorie and Leonard Vernon collection offer the neophyte and aficionado alike a delicious taste of fine art photography. Rich in works dating from the 19th century, such as the delicate rendition of Henry Fox Talbot's Lace captured on a paper negative (1840s), the Vernon collection also embraces the 20th century. The bold, mural-size color rendering of Paris made in 1998 by Stephane Couturier suggests the range in subject, scale, feeling, and tone that characterizes the works in this extraordinary collection. Familiar names known to all lovers of the medium - Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Paul Strand - are well represented with both iconic and rare images; other visual treasures by less well-known practitioners are found throughout these pages. Abstraction and the graphic qualities of the photographic print, as well as simple, classic beauty, are recurring themes that transcend time, place, and maker.The one-hundred-fifty photographs, chosen from the Vernon's collection of five thousand photographs which they selected over a period of two decades, offer an extraordinay glimpse into a rare collection and the remarkable couple who created it.