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
George Eastman Museum showcases work of In Control teen workshop artists
The George Eastman Museum presents the exhibition Evoke: A Youthful Expression, on view through March 9, 2025, showcasing the work of student artist participants of In Control, a program of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York.
George Eastman Museum celebrates 75th anniversary with new exhibition exploring history of photography
Goldie Hawn to Receive George Eastman Award
The George Eastman Museum will honor actor Goldie Hawn with the George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of cinema on Tuesday, October 22.
George Eastman Museum to present the work of Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa in October
The George Eastman Museum is delighted to announce the forthcoming exhibition, Scene at Eastman, which will open on October 25, 2024 and close on April 20, 2025. The exhibition will comprise a set of photographs and sculptures made in aluminum, glass, concrete, paper, tin, and other materials. The photographs and sculptures in Scene at Eastman (“the works”) describe various acts and instances of apprehension, of address, of attendance to the presence of others. Some objects are original, others appropriated. The viewer’s own practice of looking is solicited by the works.
George Eastman Museum receives $98,220 grant from Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s Frankenthaler Climate Initiative
The George Eastman Museum has received a grant award of $98,220 from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s Frankenthaler Climate Initiative—the largest private national grantmaking program to support climate change action at cultural institutions and the first nationwide program of its kind for the visual arts. The grant supports the installation of a new LED lighting system in the museum’s Main Galleries and adjacent exhibition spaces.
George Eastman Museum to unveil rare screen test of Adele Astaire
To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the birth of American dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer Fred Astaire, the George Eastman Museum is pleased to announce the online publication of a unique piece of film history: a 1936 screen test of Astaire’s sister Adele, a Broadway legend in her own right. This is the only known footage of her acting and singing. Unseen for nearly ninety years, it will now be accessible to the public, going live at eastman.org/dark-victory-test on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
George Eastman Museum to present candid exhibition on the life and impact of George Eastman
The George Eastman Museum has announced the next phase of a multiyear project to create a new exhibition on George Eastman’s life and legacy. The George Eastman Story Lab, which will open on Saturday, May 18 in the mansion’s second-floor Sitting Room, will offer visitors the opportunity to provide feedback on the direction of the future exhibition.
A rare nitrate film screening of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916) ushers in the 8th Nitrate Picture Show
To kick off the eighth annual Nitrate Picture Show, the George Eastman Museum will screen a unique tinted nitrate print of D.W. Griffith’s silent masterpiece Intolerance (1916) on Thursday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. The Nitrate Picture Show is the first festival in the world entirely dedicated to screening original nitrate prints from the 1910s to the 1950s, from silent cinema to Technicolor spectacles. The full program of film titles being shown this year will be announced at a press conference at 10 a.m.
George Eastman Museum appoints Michelle Finn as Curator of the George Eastman Collection
The George Eastman Museum has appointed historian and curator Michelle Finn, PhD, as curator of the George Eastman Collection, with responsibility for George Eastman’s 35,000‑square-foot mansion, its contents, and archival materials comprising more than 200,000 items. Finn will start in the position on April 15.
New Directions: Recent Acquisitions photography exhibition opens at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum continues its 75th anniversary celebration with the opening of the exhibition New Directions: Recent Acquisitions on Saturday, March 16 in the Project Gallery. New Directions features work acquired by the museum over the past five years, and showcases significant developments in photographic practice.
New exhibition Crashing into the 60s: Film Posters from the Collection opens at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum begins the celebration of its 75th anniversary with a visual journey back to the 1960s. The museum’s newest exhibition, Crashing into the 60s: Film Posters from the Collection, opens Friday, February 2 in its Main Galleries and Potter Peristyle. This exhibition features film posters from the extensive George Eastman Museum collection. In addition, a film series connecting to and expanding upon many of the posters displayed in the exhibition will run in the Dryden Theatre through the exhibition’s run in September.
The George Eastman Museum’s Wish You Were Here lecture series returns on January 25
The George Eastman Museum has announced the winter/spring lineup for its Wish You Were Here lecture series. For over 20 years, this popular photography lecture series has brought artists and photojournalists to Rochester to share their stories and photographs from around the world. The 2024 series will kick off on Thursday, January 25 at 6 p.m., with photographer Gregory Halpern.
National Endowment for the Arts Awards $20,000 to the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum has received a grant award of $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the museum’s preservation of Highlights and Shadows (US 1937), a film by James Sibley Watson Jr. Today, the NEA announced awards totaling more than $27.6 million in its first funding round of fiscal year 2016, including this Art Works award to the Eastman Museum.
The Nitrate Picture Show returns to the George Eastman Museum in 2016
The George Eastman Museum officially announced today that it will be presenting the 2nd Nitrate Picture Show this coming spring. The festival will be held April 29–May 1, 2016 at the Dryden Theatre, the George Eastman Museum’s historic venue for film exhibition in Rochester, NY. The Dryden Theatre—one of only a few archival venues in the world that can project nitrate film—is home to the museum’s ongoing program of past and present cinematic works from all countries.
George Eastman Museum acquires world’s largest collection of contemporary Indian cinema
The George Eastman Museum has recently acquired the world’s largest collection of contemporary Indian cinema held by a museum or film archive. The collection consists of 775 prints representing 597 film titles, all in 35mm format, made between 1999 and 2013. In addition, about 6,000 film posters were acquired as part of the collection. This exceptional donation represents not only films from the Hindi-language film industry commonly known as “Bollywood,” but also Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu productions. The languages represented in these films include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Many titles are from acclaimed masters of Indian cinema, such as Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
George Eastman Museum celebrates 20 years of Sweet Creations
George Eastman Museum has always been Rochester’s home for the holidays. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Sweet Creations—the exquisite display of dozens of cleverly designed and deliciously decorated gingerbread houses and objects located throughout museum. As one of the Greater Rochester community’s most beloved holiday traditions, the display will be on view November 7 through December 16.