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A color photo of a white woman with short blonde hair in front of a landscape

Cindy Sherman (American, b. 1954), Untitled #69 from the Rear Screen Projections, 1980, dye coupler print, Irwin and Judith Hanenson Collection, 1991.521, © Cindy Sherman

A photo of shrubs growing on a porch, featuring stitched details

Bea Nettles (American, b. 1946), Warm Weather Wishes: Morning Glories, 1975, gelatin silver print, stitching and applied pigments, Museum Purchase: FotoFocus Art Purchase Fund, 2023.9, © Bea Nettles

Two black and white photos of three women taking pictures, one as children and the other as adults

Darcy Drew Greene (American, b. 1947), Three Photographers: Now Lansing, Michigan, 1983, then Seattle, Washington, 1955, 1983, gelatin silver prints, Gift of Photo Systems Inc., Unicolor Division, 1985.295a-b, © Darcy Greene

A red print of plants

Anita Douthat (American, b. 1950), The Year of the Japanese Beatle, 1999, gelatin silver printing out paper, gold toned, Museum Purchase with Funds Provided by Carl Jacobs, 2000.75, © Anita Douthat

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To See and Be Seen: American Female Photographers After the 1960s

July 14–October 25, 2026

Gallery 213
Friends of Photography

While photography gained a foothold as a fine art medium between the 1960s and 1990s, women worked across the full range of contemporary photographic practice and pushed it in new directions. To Be and Be Seen presents pictures by nineteen female photographers who examined society, expanded definitions of genre and craft, and explored topics of memory, identity, and the uses and materials of photography—often while working against social and institutional conventions that advantaged men. 

From large-scale Polaroids to palm-sized postcards, this concise selection of photographs from CAM’s collection lends insight into a transformative period for culture, institutions, and art photography. Featured artists include photographers Eleanor Antin, Diane Arbus, Ruth Bernhard, Ellen Carey, Anita Douthat, Maureen France, Lorna Simpson, Cindy Sherman, and Constance Sullivan.

This exhibition has an accessible pathway.

Featured Media

Perspectives

Learn more about Lorna Simpson and her interdisciplinary art practice.

Video

Hear from Ellen Carey about using a massive Polaroid camera.

Perspectives

Performance art and photography? Discover Eleanor Antin’s work across media

Perspectives

Find out how Bea Nettles incorporates painting, printmaking, and photography