About
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 450,000 photographs; 28,000 motion picture films; the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology; one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema; and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and makes critical contributions in the fields of film preservation and photographic conservation.
Current Press Releases
George Eastman Museum restoration project Murder in Harlem (1935) selected for screening at 2021 Cannes Film Festival
Rochester, N.Y., July 2, 2021—The George Eastman Museum announced that its recent restoration of Murder in Harlem (1935), a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), has been selected to be screened in the Cannes Classic series at the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) in France. The festival will be held from Tuesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 17, 2021. The Eastman Museum collaborated with the Cineteca di Bologna, in Italy, to preserve the film.
George Eastman Museum to present two Free Film Series in Solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans
Rochester, N.Y., June 18, 2021—This summer, the George Eastman Museum will present two free film series in solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans: Spotlighting Black Film Artists and Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Directors. All are invited to attend the screenings at the Dryden Theatre.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden photography exhibition to open in Fall 2021 at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., May 12, 2021—The George Eastman Museum will open the major new exhibition Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On in its main galleries on Friday, November 5, 2021. The exhibition is an early-career survey of the Rochester-based artist’s work, in which McFadden critically examines the racism and anti-Black violence that Black Americans have experienced from slavery to the present.
India Heritage Museum in collaboration with the George Eastman Museum presents "Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection"
Rochester, N.Y., April 29, 2021—India Heritage Museum will present a new visual arts exhibition, Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection, beginning Saturday, May 8, and running through Sunday, June 13. This free exhibition includes contemporary Indian film posters provided by the George Eastman Museum and can be viewed at the Vinod and Vinay Luthra India Heritage Center at 2171 Monroe Wayne County Line Road, Macedon, 14502. The exhibit can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
George Eastman Museum will exhibit Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre’s work focusing on Transgender Older Adults
Rochester, N.Y., April 23, 2021—The George Eastman Museum will present To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults, a photographic exhibition on view from June 19, 2021 through January 2, 2022. This interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis whose research focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ issues and aging.
The Dryden Theatre will reopen on April 2
Rochester, N.Y., March 18, 2021—The Dryden Theatre will reopen to the public with a screening of Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, US 1941) on Friday, April 2, followed by Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, US 1954) on Saturday, April 3. All films will begin at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.).
Orson Welles’s Too Much Johnson now available online with voice-over commentary and musical accompaniment
Rochester, N.Y., March 11, 2021—One of the landmark projects of the George Eastman Museum’s Moving Image Department was the preservation of Orson Welles’s 1938 comedy, Too Much Johnson. The film, once thought lost, can be viewed at eastman.org/TooMuchJohnson. The digitized version of the film includes new recorded voice-over commentary by Anthony L’Abbate, preservation manager, and Caroline Yeager, associate curator, of the George Eastman Museum.
The George Eastman Museum launches new virtual artist’s talk series
Rochester, N.Y., March 8, 2021—The George Eastman Museum is launching a new series of virtual talks, Future/Present, featuring early- to mid-career photographers and artists who are exploring some of the most pressing issues of our time and pushing the boundaries of image-making and visual culture today. The series will kick off online with visual artist and storyteller Citali Fabián on March 18 at 6 p.m. The event is free for museum members and $10 suggested ticket for non-museum members.
The George Eastman Museum now offering virtual Photographic and Moving Image Process Workshops
Rochester, N.Y., March 1, 2021—The George Eastman Museum has been providing artists, educators, and enthusiasts ways to explore photographic and moving image processes for decades through its on-site Process Workshops. From how to make a tintype to turning digital negatives into prints, these in-person workshops drew people from around the world to learn from the museum’s experts. This year, the Eastman Museum is offering new ways to experience its workshops from wherever you are located.
George Eastman Museum receives 20 reels of rare 35mm nitrate films
Rochester, N.Y., February 24, 2021—The George Eastman Museum has recently received a donation of 20 reels, from 12 identified titles, of rare 35mm nitrate and diacetate film prints from historian John Goodman of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
The George Eastman Museum received $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Rochester, N.Y., December 14, 2016—The George Eastman Museum received a grant award of $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works program to preserve two 35mm nitrate film prints: The Rich and the Poor (American Film Manufacturing Co., US 1911) and The Inevitable Retribution (Biograph, US 1915). The NEA announced awards totaling more than $30 million as part of the its first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017.
The 3rd Nitrate Picture Show will return to the George Eastman Museum May 5–7, 2017
Rochester, N.Y., November 22, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will present the 3rd Nitrate Picture Show this spring. The festival will be held May 5–7, 2017 at the Dryden Theatre, the George Eastman Museum’s historic venue for film exhibition in Rochester, NY. Festival passes for the Nitrate Picture Show, the world’s festival of film conservation, will go on sale at 12:01 a.m. (EST) on Monday, December 12, 2016. Passes will be available for purchase through the museum’s website at eastman.org/nps.
George Eastman Museum welcomes actor Keir Dullea to present a new 35mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey
Rochester, N.Y., November 18, 2016 —The George Eastman Museum will present its recently acquired, brand-new 35mm print of the roadshow version of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), complete with the music meant to be heard before the film’s beginning, during the intermission, and at the end. Writer and director Stanley Kubrick’s visionary sci-fi masterwork will be shown at the museum’s Dryden Theatre on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. The film’s star, Keir Dullea, who played astronaut Dave Bowman, will introduce the film and, after the screening, will share stories and insights about its making. Dullea will also sell and sign photographs before the screening and following the discussion. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Richard Renaldi: Manhattan Sunday will open at the George Eastman Museum on January 21, 2017
Rochester, N.Y., November 16, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will open Richard Renaldi: Manhattan Sunday on January 21, 2017, in the Project Gallery. Exhibited at a museum for the first time, photographer Richard Renaldi’s new series consists of portraits, urban still lifes, and streetscapes made in the wee hours of Sunday morning, when post-bacchanalian characters join early-morning workers in New York City’s nooks and crannies. Richard Renaldi: Manhattan Sunday will be on view through June 11, 2017.
Contemporary artists Elena Dorfman, Jason Lazarus, and Diàna Markosian to speak at the George Eastman Museum this fall
Rochester, N.Y., November 2, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will host contemporary artists this fall and winter to speak about their work. Los Angeles–based photographer Elena Dorfman and Armenian-American photographer Diàna Markosian will speak as part of the museum’s Wish You Were Here lecture series, and Chicago-based artist Jason Lazarus will discuss his Too Hard to Keep (T.H.T.K.) project, an installation of which is on view in A Matter of Memory: Photography as Object in the Digital Age.
The Sweet Creations Gingerbread Display returns to the George Eastman Museum on November 4
Rochester, N.Y., October 27, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will kick off the holiday season on November 4, when the annual Sweet Creations—the exquisite display of dozens of cleverly designed and deliciously decorated gingerbread houses—opens to the public. As one of the Greater Rochester community’s most beloved holiday traditions, the display will be on view through December 14.
World-Renowned George Eastman Museum Collections Now Accessible Online
Rochester, N.Y., October 19, 2016—The George Eastman Museum has launched a new platform that allows public online access to more than 250,000 objects from its world-class collections at eastman.org/collections-online. Objects from the museum’s photography, technology, and George Eastman Legacy collections are now searchable, and more objects from the museum’s vast holdings are being added on an ongoing basis. Objects from the moving image collection will become accessible in the coming months.
The George Eastman Museum opens a new installation in its History of Photography Gallery on October 29
Rochester, N.Y., October 18, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will open a new rotation in its History of Photography Gallery on October 29. This installation, curated by Heather Shannon, assistant curator in the Department of Photography, provides an overview of the history of photography through photographs made in Mexico by artists, photojournalists, and archaeologists, as well as unidentified tourists and studio photographers from Europe, the United States, and Mexico. The installation begins with a daguerreotype that dates to 1839, the year the invention of photography was announced, and ends with a triptych from contemporary Mexican artist Alejandro Cartagena’s critically acclaimed series Carpoolers (2011–12).
The George Eastman Museum releases its 2017 Photography Workshop schedule
Rochester, N.Y., October 13, 2016—The George Eastman Museum has announced its 2017 schedule of photography workshops, including programs in making ambrotypes, tintypes, wet and dry collodion negatives, 35mm motion picture film, and digital negatives. In addition to the workshops being held at the museum, an excursion workshop in dry plates is also being offered in New York’s Letchworth State Park (named the best state park in a survey by USA Today last year).
Catherine Opie: 700 Nimes Road to open at the George Eastman Museum on October 1
Rochester, N.Y., September 26, 2016—Catherine Opie: 700 Nimes Road will be on view at the George Eastman Museum on October 1, 2016, through January 8, 2017. The exhibition presents recent work by Los Angeles–based artist Catherine Opie, one of the essential figures in contemporary photography. Opie’s photographs of the rooms, closets, shoes, clothing, and jewelry of Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) create an indirect yet intimate portrait of a life defined by wealth and fame.
Photographer Sean McFarland to kick off the George Eastman Museum’s Wish You Were Here lecture series on September 22
Rochester, N.Y., September 21, 2016—The George Eastman Museum has announced the fall lineup for its Wish You Were Here photography lecture series. The series will begin on Thursday, September 22 at 6 p.m., with photographer and RIT visiting professor Sean McFarland. His talk, Glass Mountains, Echoes, and Pictures of Us, will be followed by a book signing. McFarland’s work examines history, photography, and the representation of landscape to reveal how our perception of the earth is ever changing. His work is on view through October 2 in the museum’s exhibition Photography and America’s National Parks. The museum’s galleries will be open until 8 p.m.
The George Eastman Museum receives Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Rochester, N.Y., September 19, 2016—The George Eastman Museum has received a grant to support its project Passages: The Gabriel Cromer Collection in the amount of $148,079 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Museums for America program. The grant will allow the museum to catalog, digitize, and provide online access to its Gabriel Cromer Collection of early French photography, which includes photographs, lithographic prints, albums, books, cameras, lenses, and early motion studies.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Awards $5,000 Grant to Support Dryden Theatre’s Silent Cinema Tuesdays
Rochester, N.Y., September 6, 2016—The George Eastman Museum announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $5,000 from The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences through its FilmWatch program. Grant funds will support live musical accompaniment for 20 curated silent films to be screened in the museum’s Dryden Theatre as part of the 2016-2017 Silent Cinema Tuesdays program.
The George Eastman Museum will screen Muddy Track (1987) as part of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival
Rochester, N.Y., September 1, 2016—As part of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, the George Eastman Museum will be screening the rarely seen documentary by Bernard Shakey (aka Neil Young) Muddy Track (1987) on Sunday, September 18 at 2 p.m. The screening will be held in the museum’s Dryden Theatre, located at 900 East Avenue.
A Matter of Memory: Photography as Object in the Digital Age opens this fall at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., August 30, 2016—A major new exhibition, A Matter of Memory: Photography as Object in the Digital Age, will be on view at the George Eastman Museum from October 22, 2016, through January 29, 2017.
George Eastman Museum and Eastman School of Music bring Music in the American Wild project to Rochester
Rochester, N.Y., July 25, 2016--The George Eastman Museum and the Eastman School of Music have partnered to bring an ensemble of Eastman School of Music musicians to the museum to perform newly composed works celebrating the National Park Service’s centennial. In conjunction with the museum’s exhibition Photography and America’s National Parks, on view this summer, the FREE garden concert will be held on Sunday, July 31, at 2 p.m. in the museum’s Terrace Garden. In addition to the concert, the museum is offering a reduced regular admission fee of $10 (regularly $14) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 31.
George Eastman Museum’s landmark book The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915-1935 receives prestigious Henry Allen Moe Prize
Rochester, N.Y., July 18, 2016—The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915–1935, published by the George Eastman Museum, has been awarded the 2016 Henry Allen Moe Prize for Catalogs of Distinction in the Arts from the New York State Historical Association. This award recognizes excellence in exhibitions- and collections-based publishing by museums in New York State. Selection was by a committee of scholars and museum administrators.
George Eastman House to Host Two First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival Acts on September 20
Rochester, N.Y., July 16, 2016—George Eastman House will host two events on Sunday, September 20 as part of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival. The Company Stores, a folk fusion band from Charleston, West Virginia, will perform at 11 a.m. (tickets $10). Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference, a play produced by Screen Plays Theater will be presented at 2 p.m. (tickets $15). Both performances will be held in the Dryden Theatre, 900 East Avenue. Tickets can be ordered in advance at eastmanhouse.org.
Registration Now Open for 6th Annual George Eastman Museum PhotoFinish 5K
Rochester, N.Y., July 14, 2016—The sixth annual George Eastman Museum PhotoFinish 5K will take place on Saturday, October 1, at 8 a.m. With a scenic course through Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, the run/walk is open to everyone, including wheelchair users, and raises funds for local nonprofit organizations that make Rochester a great place to live and work. Individuals and teams can register now at eastman.org/5k.
Two rare rolls of early Kodak film acquired by the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., July 11, 2016—The George Eastman Museum recently purchased the only known box of Kodak Film for use in the Kodak camera (sometimes called American Film), introduced by the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in 1888, and one of only three known boxes of Kodak Transparent Film, introduced in 1889 for use in the Kodak camera. Now a part of the museum’s internationally renowned technology collection, these unopened boxes of film complete the Eastman Museum’s holdings related to the original Kodak camera—adding to its examples of the camera, case, shipping box, and sample images.
Restoration efforts of George Eastman’s historic mansion continue at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., June 27, 2016—The George Eastman Museum is hosting a community forum on Monday, July 11, at 6 p.m. to share information about its historic mansion restoration program and update community members about the next phase.
The George Eastman Museum announces the release of The Photographers Cookbook
Rochester, N.Y., June 20, 2016—Nearly forty years after the idea was born, The Photographers Cookbook has been released. In the late 1970s, the George Eastman Museum approached a group of photographers to ask for their favorite recipes and food-related photographs to go with them, in pursuit of publishing a cookbook. The concept grew from the idea that a photographer’s talent in the darkroom likely translated into special skills in the kitchen. Dozens of photographers sent submissions, but editor Deborah Barsel left the museum before preparations were complete, and the planned publication never came to fruition—until now. The book, co-published by the George Eastman Museum and Aperture, includes an essay by Lisa Hostetler, curator in charge of the Department of Photography at the museum.
George Eastman Museum partners with Rochester’s LGBTQ community to present a free Summer of Solidarity film series at the Dryden Theatre
Rochester, N.Y., June 17, 2016—In solidarity with the victims of the atrocity in Orlando and with the entire LGBTQ community, the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum presents Summer of Solidarity—a film series that includes seven landmark films dealing with LGBTQ themes. This film series is organized by the George Eastman Museum in partnership with the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film Festival, and The MOCHA Center/Trillium Health. Admission to all screenings is free.
George Eastman Museum to Honor Michael Keaton with George Eastman Award before Sold-Out Crowd Tonight
Rochester, N.Y., June 9, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will honor actor Michael Keaton with the George Eastman Award this evening at a sold-out event. The Eastman Award is the museum’s highest honor in motion pictures and recognizes Keaton’s distinguished contribution to the art of film. The award ceremony begins at 8 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre. More than 500 people will attend the ceremony, which will feature a video compilation of his work and a conversation with Keaton, followed by a reception in the museum.
Michael Keaton to introduce Beetlejuice at the Dryden Theatre on June 8
Rochester, N.Y., June 1, 2016—It’s been said that if you say the word “Beetlejuice” three times, he will appear. Well get ready, Rochester! The George Eastman Museum has announced that Golden Globe Award winner, Academy Award nominee, and America’s favorite Batman—actor Michael Keaton—will introduce a screening of Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988) at the Dryden Theatre on Wednesday, June 8, at 8 p.m.
George Eastman Museum Announces Programs in conjunction with Photography and America’s National Parks
Rochester, N.Y., May 31, 2016—The George Eastman Museum has announced an extensive schedule of programs in conjunction with its new exhibition, Photography and America’s National Parks, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the formation of the National Park Service and opens on June 4, with a special preview party scheduled for June 3.
George Eastman Museum introduces Online Finding Aids for the Manuscript Collections of Four Independent Filmmakers
Rochester, N.Y., May 31, 2016—The George Eastman Museum announced today that it is now offering online access to finding aids for the manuscript collections of independent filmmakers Douglass Crockwell, Leo Hurwitz, James Reese, and Lothar Wolff. These research tools provide scholars, students, and the public with the means to discover the contents of these four filmmakers’ unique collections. The finding aids are accessible at eastman.org/finding-aids.
Annual James Card Memorial Lecture presented by David Bordwell
Rochester, N.Y., May 25, 2016—Renowned film scholar David Bordwell will present the annual James Card Memorial Lecture at the George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre on Sunday, May 29 at 2 pm.
Sight Reading: Photography and the Legible World opens this June at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., May 24, 2016—The George Eastman Museum will open the exhibition Sight Reading: Photography and the Legible World on June 18 in the Project Gallery. Organized in partnership with the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, the exhibition of photographs is drawn primarily from the Eastman Museum’s rich holdings, supplemented by works from the Morgan and a private collector. It will be on view through September 18.
George Eastman Museum Hosts Artist Erica Baum on May 26
Rochester, N.Y., May 24, 2016—New York–based contemporary artist Erica Baum will be at the George Eastman Museum on Thursday, May 26 at 6 p.m. to discuss her work, which simultaneously operates as photograph and poem. Using the printed page as her primary subject, Baum fuses together photographic fragments of profound language, transforming the decontextualized words into messages that permeate everyday life.
Press Contact
Eliza Kozlowski
Senior Director of Marketing and Engagement
George Eastman Museum
(585) 327-4860
[email protected]