Kimbell opens the first photography exhibition in its history: “Photography’s First Century” from the National Library of France

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas opened on 4 October 2026 the exhibition “Photography’s First Century: Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France”, which will remain open until 17 January 2027 in the Renzo Piano Pavilion. As the Kimbell Art Museum announces, this is the first photography exhibition in the institution’s history — an event the museum describes as special also because it makes it part of the international celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the invention of photography.

The exhibition includes more than 150 images drawn entirely from the holdings of the National Library of France, which, according to the museum, is one of the largest and most comprehensive photography collections in the world, dating from the birth of the medium in 19th-century France. Among the authors are Henri Le Secq, Gustave Le Gray, Félix Tournachon (Nadar), Édouard Baldus, Louis-Émile Durandelle, Eugène Atget, André Kertész, Rogi André, Man Ray and Brassaï.

The journey begins with the invention of photography and its first years: the daguerreotype and the calotype, with works of historic, artistic and technological importance — the daguerreotype portrait of the writer Victor Hugo by his son Charles, the daguerreotypes of the archaeologist Girault de Prangey documenting Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Khayrbak Mosque in Cairo, as well as Eugène Cuvelier’s poetic calotype landscapes of the Fontainebleau forest. A separate chapter is devoted to the portraits of Nadar, who believed photography could rival painting: the Cuban singer María Martínez, the composer Gioachino Rossini, the painter Honoré Daumier and the writer Alexandre Dumas are only some of the personalities photographed by him.

The rest of the exhibition continues chronologically: Gustave Le Gray’s wistful views of the Mediterranean coast, built from multiple negatives; the photograph albums of Eugène Delacroix and Eugène Durieu with nude models staged over two days in 1854; Eugène Atget’s scenes of old Paris streets; iconic Man Ray works such as “Sleeping Woman (Natascha)” (1931) and “Rayograph: Revolver and Serpentine”; and Brassaï’s famous “Paris de Nuit” (1932) series. The exhibition closes with a chapter devoted to Pablo Picasso, photographed by Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Rogi André and Brassaï in the 1930s.

“It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Sylvie Aubenas and Flora Triebel of the National Library to select the most intriguing examples from their collection for the exhibition”, said George Shackelford, the Kimbell Museum’s deputy director and the exhibition’s organising curator in Fort Worth, as quoted in the museum’s announcement. Tickets cost 18 dollars for adults, while entry to the museum’s permanent collection remains always free.