Andrews_Rachel_E.pdf (2.2 MB)
Download fileContextualizing the Rhode Island School of Design group portfolios and the state of art photography in the 1960s and 1970s
thesis
posted on 2021-06-08, 14:09 authored by Rachel E. AndrewsThe students and faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design produced fourteen annual group
portfolios between the years 1967-1981. The George Eastman House collection contains nine of
the fourteen group portfolios created. The group portfolios add to the discourse surrounding
university photographic education programs in the late 1960s and 1970s. The tradition of annual
university group portfolios creates a tangible link between photographic education programs, the
photography market, and collecting art photography. The Rhode Island School of Design group
portfolios demonstrate that professional art photographers taught photography to make a living
while inspiring the next generation of art photographers. The seriousness of teaching
photography further validated photography as an art form. Also during this time, the number of
university photography programs increased, the photography market flourished, and institutions
developed independent photography departments. The combination of these factors progressively
led to photography’s acceptance as an autonomous artistic medium.