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
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.
The George Eastman Museum received $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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. All of the films are from the George Eastman Museum archives.
George Eastman Museum to Honor Michael Keaton with George Eastman Award before Sold-Out Crowd Tonight
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
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
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
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
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. The legacy of James Card, who was the museum’s first curator of motion pictures and is credited for helping to establish it as a leader in the fields of cinema and film preservation, is honored each year with a visiting lecture and film showing from his personal collection.