Welcome to Clio
Visualizing History is as old as petroglyphs and as new as digital imaging. It is the act of documenting or interpreting events with images, or producing an historical narrative—of communicating across time and space. For centuries chroniclers and artists have used their talents to record their history with words and images. Today we can use new media tools to mine the rich resources of the past by combining moving images and sound to create a vivid sense of the look, feel, and experience of another time. More about Clio Visualizing History.
Project Purpose
Clio Visualizing History seeks to illustrate the unique role visual images play in a rich and engaging sense of American history. Our photography exhibits reflect our interest in the still image as a key component in visual history; our documentary films relate to our belief in the power of moving images, and our digital archive uses the latest technology to capture both, as well as documents and other memorabilia from recent historical events and movements. Our aim is to present material that is useful to a wide audience of students, teachers, filmmakers, and both novice and professional historians.
Featured Section
- Johnston selling tintypes
Frances Benjamin Johnston Exhibit
Frances Benjamin Johnston’s meteoric rise to prominence as one of America’s first and foremost women photographers was propelled in the beginning by her access to the Washington, D.C., elite then sustained by her remarkable energy, entrepreneurial skills, and the sheer diversity of her subjects. As a pioneering photojournalist, she left a remarkable visual record of the early 20th century—one that offers rich opportunities for historical and cultural analysis, as well as studies in race, class, and gender.
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Other Highlights
The Allen Sisters
Identified among “The Foremost Women Photographers in America,” Frances Allen and Mary Allen's work reflects a commitment to photography as art—as a medium for capturing gentle beauty and visualizing the past while reflecting the spiritual dimension of the Arts and Crafts movement. Introduction by Naomi Rosenblum.
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Peter Palmquist Gallery
The Peter Palmquist Gallery presents the work of four very early women photographers from California: Abigail E. Cordozo, Emma Olive O’Connor, Nellie Tichnor McGraw and Elizabeth W. Withington.
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