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
Tickets on sale now for special screening of Hidden Figures with Octavia Spencer
George Eastman Museum to host Hidden Figures screening and conversation with Octavia Spencer
George Eastman Museum awarded grants totaling $1,522,000 for upgrades to HVAC infrastructure
Tickets On Sale Now for George Eastman Award Ceremony and Gala Honoring Octavia Spencer
George Eastman Museum’s Garden Vibes concert series celebrates New York’s vibrant music scene
New Exhibition Ahndraya Parlato: TIME TO KILL Explores Fears and Fantasies Around Aging
Visitors to the George Eastman Museum have the opportunity to experience Ahndraya Parlato: TIME TO KILL, on view from June 20, 2026 to January 3, 2027.
New Exhibition Explores How Kodak’s Pioneering Lambda Network Transformed LGBTQ Inclusion in the Workplace
Visitors to the George Eastman Museum have the opportunity to experience the exhibition Picturing Equality: The Lambda Network at Kodak, on view in the museum’s community gallery, Gallery Obscura, from June 27 to November 8, 2026.
George Eastman Museum Announces Listening Sessions Regarding Photography Access
Octavia Spencer to Receive George Eastman Award for Contribution to the Art of Cinema
Historic Dryden Theatre Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Four Films on Screen
Historic Gardens Now Open for the Season at George Eastman Museum
The gardens at the historic George Eastman Museum reopen today for the season, welcoming visitors to experience their beauty in bloom. Guests are invited to enjoy a stroll in one of Rochester’s most iconic landscapes as well as participate in seasonal experiences and programs. Guided tours of the historic landscape, free with museum admission, are offered Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m., from May through October.
George Eastman Museum Announces Major 2025 Acquisition of Over 900 Photographic Works
George Eastman Museum to Host 90-Second Newbery Film Festival to Encourage Reading and Media Literacy Among Youth
George Eastman Museum to Welcome Ted Neeley, star of Jesus Christ Superstar, for Special Screening and Meet-and-Greet
George Eastman Museum to celebrate Home Movie Day, a free worldwide event, on March 28
The Dryden Theatre Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary with a Weekend Full of Events
New Exhibition Edward Steichen and the Garden Provides a Portrait of the Artist Through the Lens of the Garden
George Eastman Museum to Remove University Avenue Fence to Be More Open to the Community
George Eastman Museum Presents Creative Works by Student Artists in Flower City Arts Center’s Studio 678 Photo Club
George Eastman Museum to Receive $500,000 in Federal Funding, Secured by Senator Charles Schumer, for the Preservation of Historic Mansion
Dutch Connection Annual Floral Display Returns to George Eastman Museum
Tickets on Sale Now for the 10th Nitrate Picture Show at the George Eastman Museum
George Eastman Museum Council Celebrates Valentine's Day With Brunch and Film Event
Tickets Go On Sale January 20 for the 10th Nitrate Picture Show at the George Eastman Museum
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.
The Dryden gets animated in November
The Dryden Theatre presents a series of five films by Oscar® winner Hayao Miyazaki, who is not only one of the most respected animation directors in Japan but also a critically acclaimed leader of animation filmmaking worldwide.
Eastman House gala in NYC POSTPONED
"George Eastman House is a leader in film and photography preservation,” said Scorsese. “I’ve worked closely with them for a long time now, and they’ve always impressed me with their knowledge and passion.”
International Home Movie Day is Saturday, Oct. 20
You are invited to celebrate home movies in Rochester on Saturday, Oct. 20, as part of the 10th annualInternational Home Movie Day, which takes place simultaneously in cities around the globe. The Rochester celebration will be Noon to 4 p.m. at University of Rochester River Campus in collaboration with George Eastman House and the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. The event, which is free and open to the public, is a worldwide celebration of home movies and amateur films that provides the opportunity for communities to see and share home movies, and learn how best to store and properly care for them. Staff and students also will share information as to how and where to have your films and tapes transferred, so you can watch obsolete formats, once again, at home.
George Eastman House Photo Finish 5K hits the streets Oct. 6 — a single fundraiser benefitting more than 50 Rochester causes
In the spirit of George Eastman’s philanthropic legacy, the George Eastman House Photo Finish 5K presented by MVP Health Care returns to the streets for its second year on Saturday, Oct. 6, to raise funds for more than 50 non-profit causes. This “philanthropy challenge” is a new way of fundraising, allowing dozens of organizations to raise funds via a single event, and Rochester has embraced it. Last year, more than 1,000 runners and walkers registered, ranging in age from 4 to 82, raising more than $300,000.
60 from the 60s showcases influential photographs from an influential decade that saw many new photography styles
Ten of the most significant photographers of a dynamic era are featured in an exhibition at George Eastman House that examines a time defined by classical modernism and by experimentation, conflict, and social revolution. 60 from the 60s, on display Oct. 6 through Jan. 27, 2013, features works exclusively from the Eastman House collections that were produced in a decade that saw many new photography styles emerge — collage, street photography, and photojournalism.
“Wish You Were Here” travel photo lectures return for fall
George Eastman House’s “Wish You Were Here” travel photography lecture series is back this fall, featuring renowned photographers sharing images and stories. The featured four artists will share with us locations of North American birds, Cuban rural life, an Australian amusement park, and America’s last traveling side show.
Frank Sinatra’s dramatic roles on the big screen at Dryden Theatre
The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House pays tribute to singer/actor “ole blue eyes,” Frank Sinatra, in a four-film series screening in September. The selection of films highlights some of Sinatra’s greatest dramatic performances
Silent films take the screen this fall at the Dryden Theatre
The Artist’s massive commercial success may have brought silent film into prominence again, but at Eastman House, it has always been one of the cornerstones of Dryden Theatre programs. Experience the original art this fall, September to December, as the Dryden Theatre presents a series of silents in collaboration with the University of Rochester, titled “Silent Tuesdays.” Featured will be the expressive talents of stars like Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks, and John Gilbert and the artistic mastery of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, D. W. Griffith, and King Vidor.
Eastman House collects portraits of “The Hands That Make Rochester,” created by world-renowned photographer Gary Schneider
George Eastman House is collecting portraits of “The Hands That Make Rochester,” created by internationally renowned photographer Gary Schneider. This fundraising project for the museum is focused on capturing 25 images of the hands of people shaping today’s Rochester. Participants to date include Mark Cuddy, Dave Fiedler, Jody Gage, Dan Meyers, Jeff Tyzik, and Abby Wambach, the Olympic Gold medalist and celebrated soccer player.
Eastman House presents "Ideas in Things" in photographs
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film presents this summer a gallery of photographs that demonstrate their persistence as cultural artifacts and a vehicle for memory and meaning. Ideas in Things will be on view June 30 through Oct. 21, 2012. Following its debut in Europe, these photographs return home to Eastman House, including works by Julia Margaret Cameron, Frederick H. Evans, Lucas Samaras, and Clarissa T. Sligh, and Edward Steichen.
Eastman House gardens and Dryden Theatre showcase the Lost Bird Project
George Eastman House will host in its gardens this summer an edition of five bronze memorial sculptures by artist Todd McGrain July 3-Sept, 2012, and screen on July 28 and 29 the regional premiere of the documentary film about his efforts to memorialize five extinct birds. McGrain’s Lost Bird Project focuses on five North American Birds driven to extinction in modern times: the Carolina Parakeet, the Heath Hen, the Great Auk, the Labrador Duck, and the Passenger Pigeon. Each species is represented in a sculpture as high as 6-feet tall that weighs between 400 and 700 lbs.
Images from final roll of Kodachrome donated today to George Eastman House
When Kodak announced in 2009 it would no longer produce Kodachrome film, company officials announced two ways the famed film would be celebrated: 1) National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry would be given the last roll off the Kodak production line and 2) the images from that historic roll would be donated to the archives at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. McCurry today donated photographs from that final role to George Eastman House during a press conference in the museum.