past exhibition
Appeal of the Real: 19th-century Photographs of the Ancient World
February 17 through June, 12, 2022
The photographs in this exhibition date from the 19th century, an age before tourists could take their own photographs. Photographers traveled throughout the Mediterranean to record the ruins of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome – not only to document these wonders but also to evoke their atmosphere and mystery. Like painters, they were concerned with composition and the play of light and shadow.
The primary consumers of these photographs were wealthy European and American tourists, who could visit studios and have albums made of their favorite sites.
Frances Frith
British, 1822–1898
Colosseum, Meta Sudans and Arch of Constantine, about 1860
Albumen print
Gift of Robert Steinberg
Carlo Ponti
Italian, 1823–1893
Rialto Bridge, Venice, about 1870
Albumen printGift of Robert Steinberg
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.