The Baltimore Museum of Art is currently exhibiting "Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography," a comprehensive collection that traces the city’s visual history through more than 200 photographs spanning 185 years. The exhibition, curated by Leslie Cozzi and assistant curator Antoinette Roberts, showcases images captured by local photographers, internationally recognized artists, and anonymous amateurs, offering a diverse perspective on Baltimore’s evolving identity.
Beginning with early daguerreotypes dating back to the 1840s, the exhibition highlights Baltimore’s early engagement with photographic technology. Notably, two daguerreotypes by Henry Fitz Jr., who helped invent the first commercial camera and opened a studio in the city, depict bustling city scenes and markets from the mid-19th century, establishing Baltimore as a commercial hub. The display also includes an image of Frederick Douglass taken around 1841, shortly after his escape from slavery, and a photograph of Edgar Allan Poe, both underscoring Baltimore’s historical ties to prominent national figures.
The collection features portraits from the Civil War era that reflect Baltimore’s complex position as a border city, including images of both Confederate and Union soldiers. A notable example is a portrait of General Robert E. Lee produced by the Bendann Brothers between 1861 and 1865. The exhibition also spotlights pioneering photographers such as Dora Russell and Arthur Laidler Macbeth, featuring portraits from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Visitors moving through the exhibit encounter images documenting everyday life, local industries, and the city's cultural landscape. Highlights include Berenice Abbott’s 1954 photograph of a Baltimore street scene, Keystone Company stereoscopic prints of Maryland’s oyster and crab businesses from the early 1900s, and A. Aubrey Bodine’s mid-20th-century industrial scenes depicting the steel industry at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point plant—a major economic driver before its eventual bankruptcy.
The museum emphasizes Baltimore’s status as a predominantly Black city by incorporating works that explore African American life and history. Photographs by Roland L. Freeman portray community traditions such as the “arabbers,” vegetable sellers with horse-drawn carts, while his portraits of residents provide intimate views of daily life. Other images include documentary captures of civil rights events, including a 1964 photo by Leonard Freed of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Baltimore after his Nobel Peace Prize nomination, as well as scenes from the unrest following Freddie Gray’s 2015 death. An installation recreating a Black family home with photographs and video adds a personal dimension to this narrative.
The exhibition concludes with contemporary works focusing on individual stories and family life, such as Cary Beth Cryor’s series documenting childbirth and Gioncarlo Valentine’s 2023 portrait of a young boy flexing confidently. To maintain a dynamic and evolving presentation, the museum has invited local photographers to participate in a citywide “Flashback Open Call,” resulting in a rotating display of new images that continue to expand Baltimore’s photographic legacy.
"Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography" is open at the Baltimore Museum of Art through February 21, 2027.