Aperture | Modernist photography collection in an once-in-a-lifetime show

Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, 1936

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 -  In the video, Sir Elton John introduces us to his passion for collecting and his Modernist Photography collection which he lives with, in a home tour. Made up of over 70 artists and nearly 150 rare vintage prints on show from seminal figures including Brassai, Imogen Cunningham, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, Tina Modotti, and Aleksandr Rodchenko. This is the collection which finds its way into Tate Modern, in a show which is practically the first time the photographs have been seen outside of the United States. John has been buying photos since 1991 and now has a collection of more than 8,000 images. It's an unrivalled selection of classic modernist images from the 1920s to the 1950s – a crucial moment in the history of photography. Tate Modern in London, the UK, will be opening a major new exhibition, The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection, opening on Thursday. The show will be drawn from one of the world’s greatest private collections of photography and will present an unrivalled selection of classic modernist images from the 1920s to the 1950s. Featuring over 150 works from more than 60 artists, the exhibition will consist entirely of rare vintage prints, all created by the artists themselves. The exhibition introduces a crucial moment in the history of photography – an exciting rupture often referred to as the coming of age of the medium, when artists used photography as a tool through which they could redefine and transform visions of the modern world. Technological advancements gave artists the freedom to experiment and test the limits of the medium and present the world through a new, distinctly modern visual language.

-Teri Paschos