Photographer Mark Hersch contrasts the busy streets of the early 1900s with the empty streets today to capture the pandemic — and provide a sense of hope. We hit State Street to see just how he does it.
Photography
An image of Lurie Garden in full summer bloom—and it’s “wonderfully romantic glow”—was declared the overall winner in the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual competition.
In the midst of cancelations and closures, an art exhibit remains open, for a limited time, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black ABCs. Since the 1970s, these letters have been used in public schools around the country.
Deborah Mercer has surprised herself by becoming a prolific documentarian of Chicago’s urban landscape. Here’s a look at her work.
QT Luong is renowned for his photos of the country’s national parks. In 2019, he photographed what was then the newest national park: the Indiana Dunes.
Journalism, we often hear, is a “first draft of history.” That makes old newspaper photos an excellent window into the past. We get a peek.
A baby outfit made by a nun in the Philippines in 1945 has now been shared by three generations and 60 newborns. We meet the latest member of the family to wear it.
Sixty years ago, a young photography student aimed his camera at Chicago teens. His name was Joseph Sterling, and we visited an old classmate of his for a closer look at the process of capturing youth culture and Chicago in the mid-20th century.
Dozens of old glass negatives found in the attic of a North Side home lead to a surprising discovery, just days before the house was scheduled to be torn down.
When he died in 2011, Chicago photographer Dorrell Creightney left behind half a million photos. His work is not well known, but his daughters are on a mission to change that.
The River North neighborhood offers a mix of restaurants, bars and galleries, but it wasn’t always so trendy. Chicago photographer and filmmaker Tom Palazzolo captured the area in the 1960s and now many of those photos are part of a new book.
The recovered photographs of Henryk Ross reveal complex stories of life in the Lodz ghetto. We visit an exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie.
Today, taking a picture is as easy as a single click on a phone. But for many years, the process was much more intricate and time-consuming. Geoffrey Baer shines some light on the now largely forgotten event.
The legend of street photographer Vivian Maier has grown immeasurably since her death. Now the collector who acquired the majority of her work has made a gift to the University of Chicago: 2,700 of her images and some artifacts.
More than 40 years ago, Chicagoan Dale Wickum traveled all over the country by freight train to meet and photograph men who called themselves “railroad tramps.” The photos have been in storage since the 1970s. Until now.
The Smithsonian makes a stop in Chicago with its museum on wheels, aiming to bridge the digital divide. We give you a tour.
