Eliot Porter

Eliot Porter was one of the first and most important artists to work extensively with color photography. He built a popular reputation for vibrant images of the natural world, especially birds and landscapes, that reflected his support of environmental conservation and created the foundations for the nature photography that is still popular today.

In 1990, Porter generously bequeathed to the Museum his archive, which includes over 9,000 prints. Beyond the most complete holdings of his artwork anywhere, the collection also includes resources to help better understand Porter’s work: almost 90,000 negatives, slides, and transparencies; approximately 2,600 work prints; copies of his books, portfolios and albums; the Eliot Porter Papers; his 1,100-volume professional library; and equipment including his cameras, printing tools, and work table.