Is Photography Dead? - The Art of the American Snapshot

For more than a century photographers fought to be taken seriously as artists. But now our infinite ability to technically alter images has shaken the foundation of photography’s authority: its ties to factual reality. NEWSWEEK art critic Peter Plagens looks at how technology has changed photography in the Dec. 10 issue.

Here are images from the two current photography shows that inspired his essay, one at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., “The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978,” and the other, “Depth of Field,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Photo Courtesy the National Gallery of Art
Photographer Unknown
1950s