Exploring the Collections: The Admittance of Photography

Additional Information

Sandra Semchuk, Max Didluck, Barber, Regina, Sask., 1971, black and white photograph, Collection of the Regina Public Library, PC89.7

Today, the acquisition of photographic works is a relatively common component of building public collections of works of art. However, 25 to 30 years ago it was much less so. Documentary photographs were in the collections of archives, libraries and museums or formed niche collections in the largest art galleries, as the galleries focussed on collecting the traditional media of painting, sculpture and drawing. About that time, the climate for accepting alternative art media, including the photographic, began changing to the positive and these works were considered for art gallery collections with increasing frequency. With this significant change in mind, photographic works in the collection of Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina Public Library, are viewed in this context with other Saskatchewan public art gallery collections. As art making became increasingly concerned with questions of culture, race and gender, photography moved from being a subordinate medium to occupying a central position in the visual arts. The collections of Saskatchewan art galleries reflect this direction.