About George Eastman Museum
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, 31,000 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 its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. The George Eastman Museum is supported with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Current Press Releases
The George Eastman Museum presents the 8th Nitrate Picture Show from May 30-June 2, 2024
The George Eastman Museum receives $250,000 grant from the IMLS
The George Eastman Museum has received a grant award of $250,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through its Museums for America program to support its project Lost and Found: Classic Pakistani Cinema. The grant will allow the museum to identify, catalogue, repair, and clean 135 rare and fragile films from the Anwar Shiekh film collection. This project builds upon film conservation work that began in 2020 with a previous IMLS grant award for cataloging and conservation of more than 1,000 South Asian films.
New Selections from the Collection Items Explore Photo Technology and Trends Throughout History at the Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum presents Selections from the Collection, the newest display of items from the museum's photography vaults on view in the Collection Gallery, starting Saturday, September 30.
Gregory Halpern: 19 winters / 7 springs opens at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum will present the works of photographer Gregory Halpern (American, b. 1977). The exhibition, 19 winters / 7 springs, will open at the museum on Saturday, September 16, 2023, and will run through Sunday, March 3, 2024.
George Eastman Museum Presents Magic Lantern Show at Rochester Fringe Festival
The George Eastman Museum is proud to present Nellie Bly Around the World in 72 Days: A Magic Lantern Show as part of the 2023 Rochester Fringe Festival on Thursday, September 21 at 7 p.m. on the museum’s East Lawn. More information about the George Eastman Museum event, including ticket information, is available at eastman.org. Tickets for all Rochester Fringe Festival (Tuesday, Sept. 12 – Saturday, Sept. 23) events are now on sale at rochesterfringe.com, where more information is also available.
George Eastman Museum Presents Magic Lantern Show at Rochester Fringe Festival
The George Eastman Museum is proud to present Nellie Bly Around the World in 72 Days: A Magic Lantern Show as part of the 2023 Rochester Fringe Festival on Thursday, September 21 at 7 p.m. on the museum’s East Lawn. More information about the George Eastman Museum event, including ticket information, is available at eastman.org. Tickets for all Rochester Fringe Festival (Tuesday, Sept. 12 – Saturday, Sept. 23) events are now on sale at rochesterfringe.com, where more information is also available.
George Eastman Museum appoints Daniel Peacock as curator in its Department of Photography
The George Eastman Museum has appointed Daniel Peacock as an assistant curator in its Department of Photography. In his new role, Peacock will research the museum’s collection, collaborate on collection development, curate exhibitions at the museum, and author or contribute to scholarly publications. Peacock began in the position in July 2023.
George Eastman Museum to host community forum to request funding for the Rock Garden's Grape Arbor project
The George Eastman Museum will host a community forum in the museum's Multipurpose Hall at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 26, to inform the public about the significant restoration projects that are underway to sustain the museum's National Historic Landmark.
Gillian Laub’s Southern Rites exhibition comes to the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum announced today the opening of Gillian Laub: Southern Rites, an exhibition featuring American photographer and filmmaker Gillian Laub. The exhibition will be on display in the museum’s main galleries from June 30 through the end of 2023.
Southern Rites is a powerful photographic exploration of racial tensions and discrimination in the American South. Laub spent over two decades documenting the lives and experiences of individuals in Montgomery County, Ga., a community marked by deep-seated racial divisions.
Resistance and Rescue: Denmark and the Holocaust exhibition opens at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum announced today the opening of Resistance and Rescue: Denmark and the Holocaust, an exhibition featuring American photographer Judy Glickman Lauder’s portraits of Danes who participated in rescuing Jews from deportation by Germany during World War II—and of Jews who were rescued. The portraits, taken in the early 1990s, are each accompanied by the story of the individual’s experience. The exhibition will be presented in the museum’s new Gallery Obscura through October 1.
George Eastman Museum honors Jodie Foster with the George Eastman Award
The George Eastman Museum honored Jodie Foster with the George Eastman Award Thursday evening in front of a packed crowd. The George Eastman Award, established in 1955, is the museum’s highest honor in motion pictures and recognizes Foster’s distinguished contributions to the art of film.
Garden Vibes Concert Series returns to the George Eastman Museum this summer
The Garden Vibes summer concert series will return to the George Eastman Museum this summer after a three-year hiatus due to construction on the mansion and in the gardens. The museum will host the outdoor concerts on June 14, July 19, and August 16 on the east lawn, located on the east side of the mansion next to the Schuyler C. Townson Terrace Garden.
Jodie Foster to Receive George Eastman Award
The George Eastman Museum will honor actor and filmmaker Jodie Foster with the George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of cinema on Thursday, May 25. Tickets for the benefit gala will go on sale to Eastman Museum members on April 25, and any remaining tickets will go on sale to the public on May 2. Tickets and other information for the gala and a related series of seven films at the Dryden Theatre will be available at eastman.org/eastmanaward2023.
George Eastman Museum opens newest exhibition space, Gallery Obscura
Gallery Obscura, George Eastman Museum’s newest exhibition space, is set to open on Saturday, March 4. The inaugural exhibit will be produced in collaboration with the Flower City Arts Center, which will run through June 1.
Gallery Obscura will take on a unique role – featuring exhibitions created or presented in collaboration with community organizations and school and youth programs, projects focused on Greater Rochester, and exhibitions from the museum’s collections that are thematically related to community events or that support other museum initiatives and programming.
The Nitrate Picture Show returns to George Eastman Museum June 1-4, 2023
The George Eastman Museum will present the seventh edition of the Nitrate Picture Show in late spring. The world’s only festival entirely dedicated to nitrate film will be held June 1-4, 2023 at the Dryden Theatre, the George Eastman Museum’s historic venue for film exhibition in Rochester, N.Y. Festival passes are currently available for purchase through the museum’s website at eastman.org/nitrate-picture-show.
Photography of Marcia Resnick celebrated at George Eastman Museum in exhibition opening February 11
The George Eastman Museum, in collaboration with the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, recently announced the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to longtime photographer Marcia Resnick. Following presentations at Bowdoin and in Minneapolis, the exhibition opens at the George Eastman Museum Saturday, February 11.
Sculpture of Philip Seymour Hoffman donated to George Eastman Museum
The legacy of actor/director/producer Philip Seymour Hoffman will continue to be celebrated at the George Eastman Museum. A life-size bronze sculpture of the actor, created by David A. Annand, has been donated to the museum. Erected on the sidewalk in front of the museum’s Dryden Theatre in May 2022, the sculpture was initially on loan.
Annual Dutch Connection floral show in bloom at George Eastman Museum February 10 - 26, 2023
The George Eastman Museum will bring an early dose of spring to Rochester this February with its annual Dutch Connection floral show. The display will open to the public on February 10 and will remain on view for two weeks. The annual show is a welcome treat in the midst of winter, with thousands of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, amaryllis, and spring annuals in various vibrant shades filling areas of George Eastman’s historic mansion. Tropical orchids courtesy of the Genesee Region Orchid Society will also be on display throughout the mansion.
Bronze sculpture honoring Philip Seymour Hoffman to be unveiled May 28 at George Eastman Museum
The legacy of actor/director/producer Philip Seymour Hoffman is a point of pride for those in his hometown, who will soon be able to enjoy a memorial erected in his honor at George Eastman Museum, outdoors near the Dryden Theatre. On Saturday, May 28, a bronze life-size sculpture will be unveiled that depicts Hoffman appearing to be walking toward the movie theater.
The Nitrate Picture Show returns June 2–5, 2022
The George Eastman Museum will present the 6th Nitrate Picture Show from June 2 to 5, 2022, at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY. The Nitrate Picture Show, the world’s only festival of film conservation, returns after a two-year hiatus for the sixth edition with a new lineup of nitrate prints on screen, the Nitrate Touch workshop, and two concerts on Thursday, June 2: the first on the George Eastman’s grand piano and the second on the Eastman’s Aeolian pipe organ.
George Eastman Museum to present benefit film screening in solidarity with the people of Ukraine on April 3
The George Eastman Museum will present a benefit film screening on Sunday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In Spring (Navesni; Vesnoi, Mikhail Kaufman, USSR [Ukraine] 1929, 65 min., 35mm) is a seminal work of Ukrainian cinema as well as a hymn to the miracle of life. The fact that it was filmed in and around Kyiv makes it particularly poignant today. The silent film was directed by filmmaker Mikhail Kaufman and will be accompanied by Dr. Philip C. Carli on piano.
George Eastman Museum appoints Phil Taylor as curator in its Department of Photography
The George Eastman Museum has appointed Phil Taylor as an assistant curator in its Department of Photography. He will be based primarily in New York City. His role will include participating in collection development, curating exhibitions at the Eastman Museum in Rochester, and authoring or contributing to accompanying publications and other scholarly books.
Richard Gere to receive George Eastman Award
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film announces it will honor Richard Gere with the prestigious George Eastman Award on Feb. 16. The award recognizes Gere’s distinguished contribution to the art of film as well as his global humanitarian leadership. In accepting the honor, Gere joins the company of such film legends as Charles Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Kim Novak, Martin Scorsese, and Meryl Streep. The George Eastman Award was established in 1955 as the first retrospective film award to honor artistic work of enduring value.
Paolo Cherchi Usai returns to Eastman House
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film announces the appointment of Dr. Paolo Cherchi Usai to the position of senior curator of motion pictures, a title he held from 1994 to 2004. He is currently Curator Emeritus of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and director of the Haghefilm Foundation in the Netherlands. The appointment of Cherchi Usai, a leading figure in film preservation, marks his return to Eastman House, where he began working in 1989 with what is the third largest film collection in the United States.
George Eastman House hosts Photo Finish 5K Oct. 1
Dozens of local non-profit organizations will benefit from a single fundraiser this fall — the George Eastman House Photo Finish 5K presented by MVP Health Care, aka The Philanthropy Challenge, hitting Rochester streets Saturday, Oct. 1. This type of event has become a fundraising frontrunner in major cities, with this local race modeled after the London Marathon, which has raised millions of dollars for charity.
George Eastman House presents Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera
Experience the iconic paintings and illustrations of artist Norman Rockwell alongside the staged photographs on which he based his work, with the exhibition Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera, on view June 25 through Sept. 18, 2011.
Dryden Theatre celebrates Charlie Chaplin in June
The Dryden Theatre pays tribute to Charlie Chaplin throughout the month of June, with a series of 15 films, including Modern Times, The Kid, and City Lights. While it is known Chaplin’s movies were made wholly for himself, they did speak to the whole world — and continue to do so decades later.
George Eastman House swings into 18th season of Garden Vibes
The Garden Vibes summer concert series at George Eastman House is celebrating its 18th year. On four Thursdays in July and August, George Eastman House offers a unique outdoor venue for experiencing live music. Picnic on the Eastman House lawn, relax with friends, and enjoy family-fun activities, while at the same time basking in George Eastman’s historic Townson Terrace garden and surrounding grounds. Concerts are 6 to 8 p.m.
George Eastman House Benefit Auction set for Oct. 3
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film is organizing its second benefit auction of photographic objects and prints, books, and camera technology, to take place in New York City at Metropolitan Pavilion at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3. Denise Bethel, director of the Photographs Department at Sotheby’s New York, will again volunteer her services as auctioneer, as she did for last year’s inaugural benefit auction – which raised more than a half-million dollars in less than two hours for Eastman House.
360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival to showcase 104 films from 21 countries April 27 – May 2
The 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival takes to Rochester screens April 27-May 2, with 104 films from 21 countries, plus celebratory parties, panel discussions, artist conversations, and award ceremonies. Those being honored this year include Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-winning cinematographer Buddy Squires and celebrated Rochester-based screenwriter Brock Yates. The festival is celebrating its 10th year in 2011.
Jonas Mekas visits Eastman House April 9; will receive title of George Eastman Honorary Scholar
Filmmaker Jonas Mekas — whom many call the Godfather of American Avant-Garde Cinema — will visit the George Eastman House at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 9, for a screening of his film Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania and to receive the title of George Eastman Honorary Scholar for artistic achievement. Past recipients of this honor include directors John Frankenheimer, James Ivory, and John Landis; actors/photographers Dennis Hopper and Jeff Bridges; and most recently musician/photographer Graham Nash in January.
George Eastman House marks 150th anniversary of Civil War with exhibitions opening Feb. 12
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film commemorates the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War with photography and motion picture exhibitions opening on Feb. 12, Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The museum's unparalleled collection of 19th-century photography is showcased as iconic photographs hang alongside rare and never-before-seen images, in addition to contemporary images of Civil War sites and re-enactments and a look at how motion pictures have fictitiously depicted the war. The exhibitions are on view through June 12, 2011.
Eastman House fills Conservatory with flowers
George Eastman House presents virtual springtime, with the 17th annual exhibition The Dutch Connection: George Eastman's Conservatory in Winter Bloom, on view Friday, Feb. 11 through Saturday, Feb. 26.This colorful, interpretive exhibition will feature thousands of flowering bulbs, re-creating Eastman's 1911 display of flowers from Holland - ordered from the same Dutch company Eastman used.