This fall, the Davis honors the extraordinary legacy of collecting and pedagogical leadership in photography at Wellesley College.

Mined from the extensive photographic holdings, this innovative exhibition features works selected for interpretation by sixty-five participants—Davis directors and curators, Wellesley faculty, alumnae in the field, and major patrons—all of whom have had an instrumental role in the shape and pedagogical use of the collection over the last forty years. The selections are organized unconventionally, by date of acquisition, to allow for serendipitous and revealing juxtapositions, surprising connections, and startling revelations.

The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue feature an eloquent range of pictures, from unattributed early photographs to works by renowned contemporary artists. This diversity reflects the impassioned engagement of many contributors over time, and the aspirational ambitions and exuberant inventiveness of the photographic project at Wellesley writ large.

Organized by Lucy Flint, with Lisa Fischman, Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director of the Davis, and Hannah Townsend ’11, A Generous Medium: Photography at Wellesley 1972–2012 has been realized with major funding from The J. Paul Getty Trust.

Additional funding has been provided through the generous support of the Judith Blough Wentz ’57 Museum Programs Fund, an endowed fund established by an anonymous alumna donor ’70, and Wellesley College Friends of Art.

The exhibition catalogue has been made possible by gifts from Rosamond Brown Vaule ’59 and Tucker Ayers Harris ’59 in celebration of their 50th reunion and their life-long friendship; and through the visionary generosity of Linda Wyatt Gruber ’66.