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Currently On View

Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography
Date
October 4, 2026 - February 21, 2027

See the first major exhibition to trace Baltimore’s role in the history and evolution of photography.

Baltimore isn’t just the subject—it’s a driving force in photography. Discover how Baltimore helped shape the history of photography through more than 200 photographs taken over the past 185 years. Experience Baltimore through the lenses of artists who have documented its people, neighborhoods, and defining moments for nearly two centuries.

Featured Artists

  • A. Aubrey Bodine
  • Elinor B. Cahn
  • Carl Clark
  • Roland L. Freeman
  • Irving Henry Phillips
  • Devin Allen
  • SHAN Wallace
  • Elle Pérez
  • Gioncarlo Valentine
  • Connie Imboden
  • and many more
This exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Leslie Cozzi, BMA Curator and Department Head of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, and Antoinette Roberts, BMA Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art; with Jenna Paper-Evers, BMA Curatorial Assistant, Prints, Drawings and Photographs; and initial contributions by Andaleeb Badiee Banta, former BMA Senior Curator and Department Head, Prints, Drawings and Photographs.

Advisory Panel

Exhibition research and interpretation was supported by an advisory panel of critics and historians: Lawrence Burney, writer, critic, and founder of True Laurels; Beth Saunders, Associate Director and Curator of Special Collections and Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn Library at University of Maryland Baltimore County; Shannon Perich, Curator, Photographic History Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Aaron Bryant, Curator of Photography, Visual Anthropology, and Contemporary History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Deirdre Cross, former Director of Public Programs at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Deyane Moses, Director, Programs & Partnerships, Afro Charities; educator, curator, and founder of Blackives, LLC; and Angela N. Carroll, writer, curator and art historian; Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, College of Arts & Sciences, American University.
Sponsored By

This exhibition is supported by The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Exhibition Endowment Fund, Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff, Murthy/NAYAK Global Photography Endowment Fund, and Stuart and Becky Cooper.

The catalog is made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Publication Endowment Fund.

The media partner is WJZ-TV.

Location

Special Exhibition Galleries
Related Events
10/02
Members
Members Preview Days
Tickets available Sept. 2
BMA Main Campus
10/03
Members
Members Preview Days
Tickets available Sept. 2
BMA Main Campus

Select Artworks in this Exhibition

I am an American Day Parade

Elinor B. Cahn

I am an American Day Parade

1980-1981
Mary and Michael Kujawa Raised Five Children in Their Two-and-a-Half-Bedroom Rowhouse in Canton

Elinor B. Cahn

Mary and Michael Kujawa Raised Five Children in Their Two-and-a-Half-Bedroom Rowhouse in Canton

1979
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Frenchy

Joan Clark Netherwood

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Frenchy

1978
Summer Afternoon, East Baltimore Street

Linda G. Rich

Summer Afternoon, East Baltimore Street

c. 1976-1979
Solomon Faiman Reading His Daily Yiddish Newspaper

Elinor B. Cahn

Solomon Faiman Reading His Daily Yiddish Newspaper

1979
Saturday Afternoon Bingo at St. Casimin’s in Canton

Elinor B. Cahn

Saturday Afternoon Bingo at St. Casimin’s in Canton

1979
Nan Cotrelle Coiffeurs

Joan Clark Netherwood

Nan Cotrelle Coiffeurs

1979
Image No.43 (Sunday Morning While Considering a Decisive Moment)

Carl Clark

Image No.43 (Sunday Morning While Considering a Decisive Moment)

1991, printed 1997
Mrs. Brown, East Baltimore, Maryland, November 1970

Roland L. Freeman

Mrs. Brown, East Baltimore, Maryland, November 1970

1970
400 Block of East Lorraine Avenue, Baltimore

Roland L. Freeman

400 Block of East Lorraine Avenue, Baltimore

1972
Drums in the Park, Baltimore, Maryland, August 1973

Roland L. Freeman

Drums in the Park, Baltimore, Maryland, August 1973

1973
Arabbing, South Baltimore

Roland L. Freeman

Arabbing, South Baltimore

1970
Dawson Family Memorial

Kenneth Royster

Dawson Family Memorial

2006
Elderly Couple

Kenneth Royster

Elderly Couple

1998
Untitled

Grace Zaccardi

Untitled

1981, printed 1984
Timonium Fair.

Peggy Fox

Timonium Fair.

1979
Kent’s of Broadway, Fells Point

Peggy Fox

Kent’s of Broadway, Fells Point

1980
Cross Street Poultry, Baltimore

Susie Fitzhugh

Cross Street Poultry, Baltimore

1980
Olympic Torch Run, Baltimore-D.C. Line

R. Thomas Gregory

Olympic Torch Run, Baltimore-D.C. Line

1980
Panoramic View of Inner Harbor from Federal Hill, Baltimore

John William Schaefer

Panoramic View of Inner Harbor from Federal Hill, Baltimore

1903
Panoramic View of Calvert Street North of Lombard Street, Baltimore

John William Schaefer

Panoramic View of Calvert Street North of Lombard Street, Baltimore

1904
Baltimore, MD

Ben Marcin

Baltimore, MD

2011
Sophia’s Dairy, Harford County, Maryland

Frances Benjamin Johnston

Sophia’s Dairy, Harford County, Maryland

1936-1937
John Ellicott’s Steam Engine

Unknown Artist

John Ellicott’s Steam Engine

c. 1850-1865
Looking East

Ralph B. Bonwit

Looking East

1925
The Engine Mechanic

Edward L. Bafford

The Engine Mechanic

c. 1930s
Self-Portrait (1)

Barbara Young

Self-Portrait (1)

1969
Miss Tai

Ralph B. Bonwit

Miss Tai

1925
Untitled from Rites of Passage

Cary Beth Cryor

Untitled from Rites of Passage

1978
Zoe

Elena Volkova

Zoe

2019
Yev and Luke

Elena Volkova

Yev and Luke

2020
Yev

Elena Volkova

Yev

2019
Lake

Elena Volkova

Lake

2021
Sade and Roux-Ray

Elena Volkova

Sade and Roux-Ray

2022
Baltimore Dancers Nine

Sara VanDerBeek

Baltimore Dancers Nine

2012
Baltimore Dancers Ten

Sara VanDerBeek

Baltimore Dancers Ten

2012
The Blue Room

Barbara Young

The Blue Room

1971, printed 1977
Applications Closed
Open Call to Baltimore Photographers

Concurrent with the 2026 exhibition Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography, the Baltimore Museum of Art invites photographers to submit work for the Flashback Open Call, a rotating presentation celebrating diverse photographic perspectives on Baltimore life.

Learn More & Apply

Press Contacts

Anne Brown
Baltimore Museum of Art
Senior Director of Communications
abrown@artbma.org
410-274-9907

Sarah Pedroni
Baltimore Museum of Art
Communications Manager
spedroni@artbma.org
410-428-4668

Alina Sumajin
PAVE Communications
alina@paveconsult.com
646-369-2050
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