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
The George Eastman Museum releases an album of George Eastman’s favorite tunes
Rochester, N.Y., September 24, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has announced the official release of Eastman’s Favorites, a new album of George Eastman’s most beloved songs performed on his original Aeolian pipe organ—recorded live in the historic mansion. The 27 tracks were performed by Eastman Museum resident organist Joe Blackburn. The album will be available for purchase online and in the Museum Store for $20 (including tax) with all proceeds benefiting the George Eastman Museum.
George Eastman Museum offers FREE admission on September 22
Rochester, N.Y., September 6, 2018—The George Eastman Museum will be open to the public for FREE on Saturday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the spirit of Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day, the Eastman Museum is opening its doors to all visitors for the day to encourage the Rochester community to experience the photography exhibitions David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire and Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window, and the History of Photography Gallery, as well as hands-on activities for all ages in the Discovery Room.
Actor and photographer Jason Lee to speak at the George Eastman Museum on August 23
Rochester, N.Y., June 27, 2018—The George Eastman Museum welcomes actor and photographer Jason Lee to Rochester on Thursday, August 23. Lee will present a special edition Wish You Were Here talk in the Dryden Theatre at 6 p.m., followed by a signing of his new photo book, A Plain View.
The George Eastman Museum appoints Jacqueline DiStefano as Vice President, Finance and Operations
Rochester, N.Y., June 11, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has appointed Jacqueline DiStefano, CPA as Vice President, Finance and Operations. She will be responsible for overseeing the activities of the accounting and finance, human resources, and information technology departments of the museum, as well as the Eastman Museum’s shop and cafe. DiStefano will be succeeding Thomas J. Combs, who is retiring, and will begin in her new role on July 16.
Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window will open at the George Eastman Museum on July 7
Rochester, N.Y., May 30, 2018—Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window will be on view at the George Eastman Museum beginning July 7. The exhibition will include artist Gail Albert Halaban’s photographs from the earliest to the most recent phases of her project, which until now has been seen only as discrete bodies of work from New York and Paris. This show features images made in cities all over the world, including Buenos Aires, Istanbul, New York, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Utrecht, and Venice, and showcases what urban neighbors see when they look across the street.
The George Eastman Museum appoints Katie Kalkstein as Director of Annual Giving
Rochester, N.Y., May 23, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has hired Katie Kalkstein as its Director of Annual Giving. Kalkstein will be responsible for managing the museum’s individual and corporate memberships as well as managing the museum’s annual fund campaign.
The George Eastman Museum appoints Jared Case as Curator of Film Exhibitions
Rochester, N.Y., May 21, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has announced the appointment of Jared Case to curator of film exhibitions. Case will be responsible for curating the screenings in the museum’s Dryden Theatre, assisting with moving image-related exhibitions, and facilitating film program collaborations with community partners.. Jurij Meden, who held the position for the past four years, has accepted a position as the Head of Film Programming at the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna.
The George Eastman Museum seeks funding for ongoing restoration projects throughout the historic mansion
Rochester, N.Y., May 9, 2018—The George Eastman Museum is hosting a community forum on Wednesday, May 16, at 6 p.m., to share information about its historic mansion restoration program and update community members about the next phase.
John Landis and Deborah Nadoolman Landis to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Animal House at the George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., May 8, 2018—The George Eastman Museum will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Animal House (Landis, US 1978) with a screening of a 35mm print of the film on Saturday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. The film’s director, John Landis, and its costume designer, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, will introduce the film and, after the screening, will share stories and insights about the making of this classic.
Garden Vibes summer concert series returns to the George Eastman Museum on June 20
Rochester, N.Y., May 7, 2018—The Garden Vibes summer concert series will return to the George Eastman Museum this summer. The outdoor concerts will take place on the following Wednesday evenings: June 20, July 18, and August 15.
George Eastman Museum reveals film titles screening this weekend at the 4th Nitrate Picture Show
Rochester, N.Y., May 4, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has released the official program for this weekend’s 4th Nitrate Picture Show, the world’s first festival of film conservation. Following a day of workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, and talks in the Dryden, the 4th Nitrate Picture Show will begin its official program at 4:30 p.m. today with a series of six short nitrate films, followed by Sommarlek (Summer Interlude, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 1951) at 7:30 p.m., and conclude the day with Holiday (George Cukor, US 1938), starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, at 10 p.m.
Countdown to the 4th Nitrate Picture Show at the George Eastman Museum May 4–6
Rochester, N.Y., April 30, 2018—The George Eastman Museum will present the 4th Nitrate Picture Show on May 4–6, 2018, at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY. The 4th Nitrate Picture Show has been generously funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Imagine Monroe (powered by COMIDA). The schedule for this year’s festival includes ten programs of feature-length and short films from eleven international archives and collections. The titles in this year’s lineup will be revealed at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 4.
"Eastman Entertains: At The Movies" Tabletop Displays return to the George Eastman Museum May 8–20
Rochester, N.Y., April 2, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has announced that its popular Eastman Entertains: At the Movies, will be on view from Tuesday, May 8, through Sunday, May 20. For two weeks only, a spectacular array of creatively styled table settings and floral arrangements inspired by popular motion pictures—including My Fair Lady, A League of Their Own, Steel Magnolias, and The Goonies—will be displayed throughout the mansion of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman.
A rare nitrate film screening of Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948) ushers in the 4th Nitrate Picture Show
Rochester, N.Y., February 14, 2018—In anticipation of the 4th Nitrate Picture Show, the George Eastman Museum will host a special pre-festival event with a screening of a rare nitrate print of Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, UK 1948) on Thursday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. The film is on loan from the Library of Congress. The 4th Nitrate Picture Show will officially begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 4, when the full program of film titles to be shown at the festival will be announced.
George Eastman Museum receives extensive collection of photographs by David Levinthal
Rochester, N.Y., February 6, 2018—The George Eastman Museum has acquired a large and comprehensive collection of photographs by David Levinthal as a result of donations from an anonymous patron and from Donald Rosenfeld Jr. The museum is now the most significant repository of Levinthal’s art in the world. The Eastman Museum will premiere the retrospective David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire on June 2, 2018. The exhibition will run through December 30, 2018.
The George Eastman Museum celebrates 90 Years of the Academy Awards
Rochester, N.Y., January 23, 2018—The George Eastman Museum will be celebrating the 90th Academy Awards with a 23-film series at the Dryden through April, a special event with Jack Garner on February 16 discussing his award winner predictions, and a day of past Best Picture winners screening at Kodak Center on March 3.
Dutch Connection floral show returns to the George Eastman Museum for two weeks only, beginning February 9
Rochester, N.Y., January 11, 2018—The George Eastman Museum brings springtime to Rochester a few months early, with the annual Dutch Connection floral show, on view Friday, February 9, through Sunday, February 25. This colorful two-week display features thousands of flowering bulbs in George Eastman’s historic mansion.
George Eastman Museum to premiere "Dreaming in Color: The Davide Turconi Collection of Early Cinema"
Rochester, N.Y., January 9, 2017—Dreaming in Color: The Davide Turconi Collection of Early Cinema will open at the George Eastman Museum on January 13. Dreaming in Color is dedicated to a unique collection of more than 23,000 original nitrate frames of 35mm films dating from the early years of cinema (1897–1915). The frames were gathered by Italian film historian Davide Turconi (1911–2005) in the 1960s from a large collection of films acquired by Jesuit priest Josef-Alexis Joye (1852–1919).
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.