Gustave Le Gray, Brig on the Water, 1856, albumen print from wet-collodion-on-glass negative. The Clark, 1998.32.3

Photography had no presence at the Clark until the late 1990s, when the museum launched a major campaign to build a collection of photographs focused on the early history of the medium (pre-1900). This decision attracted widespread attention and marked the first time in the Clark's history that it entered an entirely new collecting area. The museum now holds an equal number of photographs and drawings, and although the aggressive pace of acquisition slowed somewhat after the early 2000s, photography continues to be a strong collecting priority. Recent gifts, including photographs of and by Black Americans from Frank and Katherine Martucci, have extended the collection into the twentieth century and considerably widened its original scope.