“The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is the exclusive United States venue for the retrospective exhibition Walker Evans. As one of the preeminent photographers of the 20th century, Walker Evans’ 50-year body of work documents and distills the essence of life in America, leaving a legacy that continues to influence generations of contemporary photographers and artists. The exhibition encompasses all galleries in the museum’s Pritzker Center for Photography, the largest space dedicated to the exhibition, study and interpretation of photography at any art museum in the United States.” — SFMOMA
“Conceived as a complete retrospective of Evans’ work, this exhibition highlights the photographer’s fascination with American popular culture, or vernacular,” explains Clément Chéroux, senior curator of photography at SFMOMA. “Evans was intrigued by the vernacular as both a subject and a method. By elevating it to the rank of art, he created a unique body of work celebrating the beauty of everyday life.”
Walker Evans, Self-Portrait, 1927; gelatin silver print; collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Roadside Stand Near Birmingham / Roadside Store Between Tuscaloosa and Greensboro, Alabama; Walker Evans (American, 1903 – 1975); 1936; Gelatin silver print; 18.4 × 22.4 cm (7 1/4 × 8 13/16 in.); 84.XM.956.519
Walker Evans, Truck and Sign, 1928–30; gelatin silver print; private collection, San Francisco; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Street Debris, New York City, 1968; gelatin silver print; private collection, San Francisco; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Penny Picture Display, Savannah, 1936; gelatin silver print; Pilara Foundation Collection; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Subway Portraits, 1938–1941; gelatin silver print; collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Floyd and Lucille Burroughs, Hale County, Alabama, 1936; gelatin silver print; collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Allie Mae Burroughs, Wife of a Cotton Sharecropper, Hale County, Alabama, 1936; gelatin silver print; private collection; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Subway Portrait, 1938–41; gelatin silver print; collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Resort Photographer at Work, 1941, printed later; gelatin silver print; collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York, 1931; gelatin silver print; private collection, San Francisco; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Untitled [Street scene], 1950s; gouache on paper; collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Chain-Nose Pliers, 1955; gelatin silver print; The Bluff Collection; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Collage with Thirty-Six Ticket Stubs, 1975; cut and pasted photomechanical prints on paper; collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Walker Evans Archive; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Unidentified Sign Painter, Coca-Cola Thermometer, 1930-70; enamel on ferrous metal; collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Walker Evans Archive; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
John T. Hill, Interior of Walker Evans’s House, Fireplace with Painting of Car, 1975, printed 2017; inkjet print; private collection; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, Sidewalk and Shopfront, New Orleans, 1935; gelatin silver print; collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Willard Van Dyke; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans, “Labor Anonymous,” Fortune 34, no. 5, November 1946; offset lithography; Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Collection of David Campany; © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walker Evans is organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, in collaboration with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Images courtesy San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.