The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip

June 17 - September 11, 2016 - The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip is the first exhibition and book to explore the story of the American photographic road trip & one of the most distinct, important and appealing themes of the medium. Images document the evolution of American car culture, the idea of the open road and how photographers embraced America.

After World War II, the American road trip began appearing prominently in literature, music, movies and photography. The myth of the American frontier has long engaged artists, but it was seminal trips through America by key photographers, such as Walker Evans and Edward Weston, in the 1930s and 1940s that encouraged many more photographers to purposefully embark on similar journeys during the post-World War II era. They created a body of work about America and their place in it.