The Museum of Photographic Arts is a surprisingly young institution. Surprising because during its relatively short life, the Museum has emerged as one of the cultural cornerstones of San Diego. The Museum was founded in 1972 and was known then as the Center for Photographic Arts. This name was wishful thinking: the Center had no home for nine years.

In 1982, the city of San Diego provided a space in the Balboa Park cultural complex for use as a home. The Museum, as the organization was now known, was designed by architect David Raphael Singer. The Museum officially opened its doors on May 1, 1983 and has not stopped since that time. The Museum has maintained a vigorous and varied schedule of exhibitions, a number of which originate at the Museum before travelling on to other venues. Exhibitions at the Museum have covered every aspect of the history of the photographic medium.

The Museum of Photographic Arts was one of the first museums to exclusively devote itself to the collection and presentation of photography. The Museum’s collections encompass the full spectrum of photograph. The collection includes Daguerreotypes, salt prints, Woodbury types, albumen prints, ambrotypes and tinotypes as well as contemporary Polaroids and laser holograms. Particular strengths of the collection are Daguerrian holdings, Soviet Russian Photography and contemporary documentary and photojournalistic works.

Artists represented in the collection of 19th and early 20th century work include Matthew Brady Julia Margaret Cameron, Alfred Stieglitz, Clarence White, Paul Strand, Bernice Abbott, Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ben Shahn and several others. Contemporary artists represented in the collections at the Museum include Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Robert Heinecken, Sally Mann, Duane Michals, Irving Penn, Abelardo Morrell, Larry Clark, Garry Winogrand and several others.

The Museum also collects relevant related materials and documents in the interest of creating a comprehensive archive. The collections include a small amount of film and video work. The major bequest of the collection of the late photographer and filmmaker Lou Stoumen added 178 photographs to the collection, as well as the negatives and rights to the artist’s films, photographs and writings.
Hours: Monday - Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM

Admission: $6 for adults, $4 for students, seniors and military personnel, free to members and children under age 12, (free to everyone on the 2nd Tuesday of each month)

Location: The Museum of Photographic Arts is located at 1649 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego.

For tickets/information, call: 619-238-7559
Hours to call: 24-hour information line

Visit their Web site at: http://www.mopa.org