You are invited to enroll in our

Polk Museum of Art

Art History
Lecture Series

With your professor

Dr. H. Alexander Rich
Executive Director & Chief Curator

Today we take the ease of photography for granted; after all, we are all armed with cameras in our pockets each day. But have you ever wondered HOW photography was invented in the first place? How in 1839 the world as we know it was transformed forever with the announcement of the Daguerreotype — a miraculous invention that over the course of 20 minutes produced images "drawn by the sun”? In this course, which is more timely than ever in our image-laden world, join Dr. Rich as he take you on an incredible journey through the remarkable (and surprisingly scandalous) history of photography, from its earliest discovery in the 1820s and the disputed claims to be called its inventor to the introduction of the Kodak camera and the evolution of the medium into a fine art form unto itself. Once you have taken the History of Photography, you will never look at photography — your own or that of the great photographic masters — the same way again.  

This series will be held in-person with remote attendance options made available for those who wish to join from afar.

4 Class Sessions and Champagne Reception

January 9, 16, 23, 30, 2024
6:30 to 8:30pm

Register by clicking the button below or call 863.688.7743 x240

This lecture series is a fundraising program in support of the Museum.