Other People’s Pictures: Snapshots from the Peter J. Cohen Gift

About the publication

This exhibition includes a selection from a gift of more than 500 small black-and-white photographs, mostly from the early- and mid-twentieth century, donated by Peter J. Cohen. Mr. Cohen has amassed more than 35,000 amateur photographs culled from antique shops, flea markets, private dealers, and on-line sources. Most of the photographs are anonymous and capture moments in the lives of ordinary people, often depicting celebrations, vacations, and gatherings of family and friends. Individual images were chosen for their eclectic, idiosyncratic, sometimes humorous nature as well as for their subject matter, with a particular focus on the lives and activities of women.

Support for Other People’s Pictures is provided by the Evelyn Metzger Exhibition Fund and the Hoene Hoy Photography Endowment Fund.

The accompanying catalogue for Other People’s Pictures: Snapshots from the Peter J. Cohen Gift, which was on display from July 14–September 17, 2017, at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, is 126 pages and includes over 200 images. Peter J. Cohen and Mary-Kay Lombino preface the catalogue, which also features artists and Vassar College faculty and alums.