The Extended Moment: Fifty Years of Collecting Photographs at the National Gallery of Canada

A sumptuous celebration of one of the world's most striking photograph collections from 1967 to 2017.


This publication celebrates fifty years of collecting photographs at the National Gallery of Canada. In 1967, when the collection was established, the photography market was in its infancy and the collection reflects the availability of in-depth collections of work by some of the forefathers of the medium such as Charles Nègre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Gustave Le Gray and Roger Fenton, among others. Within a few short years of starting to build the collection the science of photographic preservation and conservation was making remarkable strides and influencing the acquisition and exhibition of photographs in museums.


This publication celebrates the collecting of photographs, the historical and art historical context of their making and the deepening of our understanding of their physical nature. The work of 164 artists, such as: Benoit Aquin; Diane Arbus; Eugène Atget; Nicolas Baier; Edouard Baldus; Brassaï; Julia Margaret Cameron; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Lynne Cohen; Benjamin John Dancer; Walker Evans; Robert Frank; Lee Friedlander; Isabelle Hayeur; Arnaud Maggs; Robert Mapplethorpe; John Max; Lisette Model; Eadweard Muybridge; Charles Nègre; William McFarlane Notman; Marc Ruwedel; Jospeph Sudek; William Henry Fox Talbot and vernacular and news photographs by unknown photographers will also be included.