Photographer in studio sticking tongue out

Despite the fact that the photographs on view here were made roughly 120 to 165 years ago, they remain fresh, compelling and even surprising. They tell us things we did not know and reveal a sophistication that we might not have expected. Some, like this playful carte-de-visite, are wonderfully irreverent. We are reminded that the makers of these works were real people-and in some cases, real characters-with deeply held ideas, opinions and points of view. The creative spirit of this work was not only pioneering: it endures to inform and challenge us today.