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.
George Eastman Museum restoration project Murder in Harlem (1935) selected for screening at 2021 Cannes Film Festival
The George Eastman Museum announced that its recent restoration of Murder in Harlem (1935), a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), has been selected to be screened in the Cannes Classic series at the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) in France. The festival will be held from Tuesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 17, 2021. The Eastman Museum collaborated with the Cineteca di Bologna, in Italy, to preserve the film.
George Eastman Museum to present two Free Film Series in Solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans
This summer, the George Eastman Museum will present two free film series in solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans: Spotlighting Black Film Artists and Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Directors. All are invited to attend the screenings at the Dryden Theatre.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden photography exhibition to open in Fall 2021 at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum will open the major new exhibition Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On in its main galleries on Friday, November 5, 2021. The exhibition is an early-career survey of the Rochester-based artist’s work, in which McFadden critically examines the racism and anti-Black violence that Black Americans have experienced from slavery to the present. To this end, McFadden explores how racism, masculinity, sexuality, and gender impact Black Americans, while at the same time he envisions Black life liberated from these strictures.
India Heritage Museum in collaboration with the George Eastman Museum presents "Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection"
India Heritage Museum will present a new visual arts exhibition, Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection, beginning Saturday, May 8, and running through Sunday, June 13. This free exhibition includes contemporary Indian film posters provided by the George Eastman Museum and can be viewed at the Vinod and Vinay Luthra India Heritage Center at 2171 Monroe Wayne County Line Road, Macedon, 14502. The exhibit can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
George Eastman Museum will exhibit Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre’s work focusing on Transgender Older Adults
The George Eastman Museum will present To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults, a photographic exhibition on view from June 19, 2021 through January 2, 2022. This interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis whose research focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ issues and aging.
The Dryden Theatre will reopen on April 2
The Dryden Theatre will reopen to the public with a screening of Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, US 1941) on Friday, April 2, followed by Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, US 1954) on Saturday, April 3. All films will begin at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.).
Orson Welles’s Too Much Johnson now available online with voice-over commentary and musical accompaniment
One of the landmark projects of the George Eastman Museum’s Moving Image Department was the preservation of Orson Welles’s 1938 comedy, Too Much Johnson. The film, once thought lost, can be viewed at eastman.org/TooMuchJohnson. The digitized version of the film includes new recorded voice-over commentary by Anthony L’Abbate, preservation manager, and Caroline Yeager, associate curator, of the George Eastman Museum. The online film also includes a new musical score provided by Philip C.
The George Eastman Museum launches new virtual artist’s talk series
The George Eastman Museum is launching a new series of virtual talks, Future/Present, featuring early- to mid-career photographers and artists who are exploring some of the most pressing issues of our time and pushing the boundaries of image-making and visual culture today. The series will kick off online with visual artist and storyteller Citali Fabián on March 18 at 6 p.m. The event is free for museum members and $10 suggested ticket for non-museum members.
The George Eastman Museum now offering virtual Photographic and Moving Image Process Workshops
The George Eastman Museum has been providing artists, educators, and enthusiasts ways to explore photographic and moving image processes for decades through its on-site Process Workshops. From how to make a tintype to turning digital negatives into prints, these in-person workshops drew people from around the world to learn from the museum’s experts. This year, the Eastman Museum is offering new ways to experience its workshops from wherever you are located.
George Eastman Museum receives 20 reels of rare 35mm nitrate films
The George Eastman Museum has recently received a donation of 20 reels, from 12 identified titles, of rare 35mm nitrate and diacetate film prints from historian John Goodman of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
This Week: George Eastman Museum opens two exhibitions and kicks off film series as part of Stories of Indian Cinema
Stories of Indian Cinema, which comprises two exhibitions—Abandoned and Rescued and Nandita Raman: Cinema Play House—will open at the George Eastman Museum on Saturday, November 11, with a preview on the evening of Thursday, November 9. Abandoned and Rescued tells the intriguing story behind the Eastman Museum’s recent acquisition of a collection of contemporary Indian films and posters. Raman’s Cinema Play House series features photographs the artist made in various single-screen cinemas in India, many of which are threatened by the emergence of multiplexes. Both exhibitions will be on view in the museum’s main galleries through May 13, 2018.
George Eastman Museum announces 2018 photography and film workshop schedule
The George Eastman Museum has announced its 2018 schedule of photography workshops, including several new programs, including a one-day tintype boot camp; hand-coloring film; creating Niepceotype, hyalotype, and albumen on glass plates; and an introduction to analog photography. In addition to workshops being held at the museum, excursion workshops are being offered on the Erie Canal and at Letchworth State Park.
George Eastman Museum acquires rare collection of Lumière films
The George Eastman Museum has recently acquired and restored a rare collection of eighteen Lumière films. The nitrate reels, all in nearly pristine condition, consist of seven 35mm negatives and eleven 35mm positive prints, dating approximately between 1896 and 1903. The restored films will make their debut at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy on Wednesday, October 4, at 8:30 p.m.
The George Eastman Museum’s Wish You Were Here lecture series returns on September 28
The George Eastman Museum has announced the fall lineup for its Wish You Were Here lecture series. For more than 16 years, this popular photography lecture series has brought artists and photojournalists to the Rochester to share their stories and photographs. The series will begin on Thursday, September 28 at 6 p.m., with photographers Ahndraya Parlato and Gregory Halpern.
George Eastman Museum to offer FREE DAY on September 23
The George Eastman Museum will be open to the public for FREE on Saturday, September 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the spirit of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live!, the Eastman Museum is opening its doors to all visitors for the day to encourage the Rochester community to experience the photography exhibition Eugene Richards: The Run-On of Time before it closes on October 22.
George Eastman Museum launches Technicolor Online Research Archive
The George Eastman Museum has officially launched the Technicolor Online Research Archive available at technicolor.eastman.org. The online archive contains more than 40,000 documents from the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, ranging in date from 1914 to 1955. Notes, journals, correspondence, film tests, technical drawings, and other documents are now available for the public to search and browse.
The George Eastman Museum and Table Top Opera present Within the Quota as part of KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival
As part of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, the George Eastman Museum and TableTopOpera will present a multi-media presentation titled Within the Quota on Tuesday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the museum’s Dryden Theatre.
George Eastman Museum appoints Kevin Gavagan as Chair of its Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the George Eastman Museum has appointed Kevin Gavagan as its new Chair.
Ben Morey and The Eyes to perform at the George Eastman Museum on Saturday, August 19
Due to a major restoration project that has temporarily closed the East Porch and East Vista of George Eastman’s historic mansion, this is the first summer in 22 years that the George Eastman Museum is not hosting its annual Garden Vibes concert series. The museum plans to keep the music alive, however, with a special Hidden Garden Concert on Saturday, August 19, at 6 p.m.
The George Eastman Museum seeks funding for major restoration and redesign projects
The George Eastman Museum is hosting a community forum on Monday, July 17, at 6 p.m. to share information about its historic mansion restoration program and update community members about the next phase. In addition, the museum will share information about its plan to relocate and redesign the museum’s main public entrance to enhance accessibility for all visitors.
Happy Birthday, George Eastman!
In honor of George Eastman’s birthday, today the George Eastman Museum will unveil a new interactive offering in Eastman’s historic mansion. In the screening room on the second floor of the museum, visitors can now watch historic footage and recent documentaries related to George Eastman—many of which are only available on-site at the museum.
Celebrate America’s Favorite Pastime this summer at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum will be celebrating baseball this summer with America’s Favorite Pastime, a film series of twelve features spanning nearly ninety years of cinema history. As part of the series, which is presented in collaboration with the Rochester Red Wings, the Eastman Museum will host two special events: a screening of Bull Durham (1988) with writer/director and former Rochester Red Wing Ron Shelton in person on July 6, and a screening of Field of Dreams (1989) with writer/director Phil Alden Robinson in person on August 4.
Lucinda Devlin: Sightlines now on view at the George Eastman Museum
Lucinda Devlin: Sightlines is now on view at the George Eastman Museum through December 31, 2017. Photographer Lucinda Devlin has devoted her forty-year career to exploring the relationship between our bodies and the spaces they inhabit. Her work, made with a 2¼-inch camera and wide-angle lens, consists in large part of photographs of interiors associated with pleasure or pain.
George Eastman Museum to present David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire in 2018
The George Eastman Museum has announced it will premiere a retrospective of artist David Levinthal’s work next summer. The exhibition, David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire, is set to open on June 2, 2018, and will run through December 30, 2018.
Registration Now Open for 7th Annual George Eastman Museum PhotoFinish 5K
The seventh annual George Eastman Museum PhotoFinish 5K will take place on Saturday, October 14, 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.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards $5,000 Grant to Support Dryden Theatre’s Silent Tuesdays
The George Eastman Museum announced that it has been awarded a grant of $5,000 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences through its FilmWatch program. Grant funds will support live musical accompaniment for more than 15 silent films to be screened in the museum’s Dryden Theatre as part of the 2017–18 Silent Tuesdays program.
George Eastman Museum reveals Film Titles for the 3rd Nitrate Picture Show
The George Eastman Museum has released the official program for this weekend’s 3rd 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 3rd Nitrate Picture Show will begin its official program at 4:30 p.m. today with a series of seven short nitrate films, and conclude the day with The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Irvin Reis, US 1947), starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple, at 10 p.m.
The Nitrate Picture Show Kicks Off on May 5 at the George Eastman Museum
The George Eastman Museum will present the 3rd Nitrate Picture Show on May 5–7, 2017, at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY. The schedule for this year’s festival includes ten programs of feature-length and short films from twelve international archives and collections. The titles in this year’s lineup—which have collectively won five Academy Awards—will be revealed at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 5.