Chicago. Photography in Chicago Collections. April 24-June 6, 1982.

Selected to illustrate the history of the art of photography and to inaugurate the new galleries and facilities of the Department of Photography.  Art Institute of Chicago, 1982. Texts by David Travis and James N. Wood. Exhibition catalog, illustrated wraps, 48 pages. Includes checklist of 287 items, including by photographers not illustrated in the catalog, and list of lenders. Travis' text provides a history of photography collecting in the Chicago area by Alden Scott Boyer, Exchange National Bank of Chicago, Reva and David Logan, Arnold Gilbert, David C. Ruttneberg, Richard Sandor, Alan Koppel, Morton G. Neumann family, et al. Note: photographs are not taken in Chicago. Fine. Uncommon in this excellent condition. Summary:

Photography in Chicago Collections was a landmark exhibition presented by the Art Institute of Chicago from April 24 through June 6, 1982. Organized by the museum’s Department of Photography—with an accompanying publication featuring contributions from photography curator David Travis and museum director James N. Wood—the project served a dual milestone purpose: it inaugurated the Art Institute’s newly expanded photography galleries and facilities while celebrating the rich, diverse history of photography collecting within the Chicago metropolitan area.

Featuring a comprehensive selection of nearly 300 works, the exhibition surveyed the historical development of the medium from its 19th-century origins to modern visual movements. The display highlighted works drawn from major local private holdings and institutions, featuring masterworks by pioneering figures such as Édouard Baldus, Alfred Stieglitz, Eugène Atget, Alvin Langdon Coburn, László Moholy-Nagy, Edward Weston, and Clarence John Laughlin. Beyond illustrating a timeline of photographic art, the exhibition and its catalogue documented Chicago's transformation into a major hub for photographic patronage, spotlighting key regional collectors and institutions—such as the Exchange National Bank of Chicago, Alden Scott Boyer, and Arnold Gilbert—who helped shape the city's legacy in the medium.