The remarkable photography collection of the University of New Mexico Art Museum owes its unique character and quality to the directors, curators, scholars, and artists who have taught, worked, and studied at the museum and in the university’s Department of Art and Art History. In this indispensable book, these distinguished scholars and artists reflect on the pictures from the collection that hold significance to them. Through their own professional and artistic practice, they represent different generations of aesthetic voices and intellectual directions.

As one of the earliest collegiate institutions to begin collecting photography, the University of New Mexico Art Museum holds a stunning array of images that span photography’s 175-year history. In addition to iconic works by famous photographers, this book also features less familiar but equally masterful pictures. Together, these essays represent a unique history of photography and this renowned museum.