“A must-see for photography lovers” —NY1
For 60 years, pioneering photographer Consuelo Kanaga (1894–1978) used her camera to confront urgent social issues of her time, from urban poverty to labor rights to racial terror and inequality. Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit charts the artist’s groundbreaking work and life story, shedding light on this critical yet overlooked figure in modern photography.
From the top: Consuelo Kanaga. Young Girl in Profile, 1948. Toned gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.11. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. Untitled, 1936, printed 2023. Pigmented inkjet print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.974. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1925. Gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.214. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. She Is a Tree of Life, 1950. Gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.2250. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. After Years of Hard Work (Tennessee), 1948. Toned gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.387. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga, Untitled, ca. 1935. Toned gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.451. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. Wharton Esherick, 1940. Bromide print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.462. © Brooklyn Museum (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Images courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum Shop
Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit is organized by the Brooklyn Museum in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is curated by Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art (formerly Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, Brooklyn Museum). The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, with Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture, Brooklyn Museum.
Generous support is provided by David Dechman and Michel Mercure, Michael Field and Doug Hamilton, and Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker.
Additional support is provided by the Susie Tompkins Buell Fund, Antonia & Vladimer Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund, Honor Lassalle, and the Leonian Charitable Trust.
