"Masterpieces from the Howard Greenberg Collection"

Exhibition: 11 September 2014 – 11 January 2015

Following great success in Lausanne, Paris and Budapest, the Jewish Historical Museum presents the exhibition "Masterpieces from the Howard Greenberg Collection".

Approximately 150 photos from the private collection of New York gallery-owner Howard Greenberg will be on display. Greenberg’s collection features icons by famous photographers such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Edward Steichen, Robert Frank, Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, as well as masterpieces by less well-known photographers such as Consuelo Kanaga and Jerome Liebling.

Howard Greenberg has an established reputation as gallery owner and photography dealer, but his passion for collecting has only recently come into the spotlight. He has been developing his impressive collection over the course of thirty years and today it consists of over 500 photos. Greenberg’s personal love and fascination for certain photographs, as well as the quality or story of a specific print, are key in his purchase choices. Greenberg’s collection stands out because of the high quality of its prints – Greenberg often waited years in order to acquire the print of his dreams.

The Howard Greenberg gallery in Manhattan is one of the largest and most prestigious photography galleries in the world. Greenberg is well-known for his passion for photography, his expertise in the field, his network in the international photography-scene and his personal connections with many photographers or their relatives. With his sharp instinct for photographic quality, Greenberg played a crucial role in rediscovering the post-war street photographers of the New York School, amongst which Saul Leiter, whose photos were exhibited at the Jewish Historical Museum in 2011.

The collection features many iconic photographs by famous photographers as well as masterpieces by less well-known artists. For Greenberg, a photographer’s fame plays a less important role. His collection represents a diversity of photographic genres and movements in Europe and America, with a focus on the New York School and the Czech modernism of the 20’s and 30’s. Greenberg’s collection offers a broad overview of the history of twentieth century Western photography.

The exhibition was produced by the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne in cooperation with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bression in Paris. The English publication Howard Greenberg Collection will be available at Uitgeverij Steidl.