Closed · Closed 23 Aug 2026
Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography

The Art Institute of Chicago — Gift of David Vestal
Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography was on view at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States, from May 23, 2026 to August 23, 2026.
Last verified August 15, 2026 · Official source ↗
The first exhibition to explore photography's relationship with resource extraction, comprising approximately 150 photographs tracing how photographers captured the processes and impacts of the extraction of minerals, coal, and fossil fuels, from 19th-century Gold Rush daguerreotypes to contemporary large-scale imagery.
Artists
Venue
- National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C., United States · May 23 – August 23, 2026Closed 23 Aug
Images

Lewis Wickes Hine, Breaker Boys in Pennsylvania Coal Mine, 1920
The Art Institute of Chicago — Gift of David Vestal · Source ↗
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