Fort Worth, TX, October 10, 2007—Keith F. Davis, curator of photography at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., will present a lecture entitled Discovering Civil War Photography: Fact, Imagination, and Myth at the Amon Carter Museum on Saturday, October 27 at 11 a.m.

The American Civil War was the first extensively photographed conflict in this country, and for generations images from this war have been touchstones of American history. More recently, they have also come to be recognized as central to the art of photography: the camera’s ability not only to record the visible world, but also to convey personal opinion and judgment. Davis’ talk will introduce the variety, nuances and fascinating complications of Civil War photography.

The Carter, which has one of the country’s major collections of American photographs, holds works by key photographers from the Civil War era, including William Bell, Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Timothy O’Sullivan, and Andrew Russell.

Before joining the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Davis was fine art programs director of the Hallmark Photographic Collection, which was donated to the Nelson-Atkins in late 2005. During his 28-year tenure with Hallmark, he transformed the photography collection, begun in 1964, into a premier photographic repository. Holding more 6,500 works by 900 artists, it encompasses the entire history of photography with special emphasis on American work. In addition to assembling more than 60 exhibitions and authoring numerous books, Davis lectures widely on 19th- and 20th-century photography.

Admission to this lecture is free. Reservations are required; seating is limited. Please call 817.989.5057 to register; confirmation will be sent.