In 1990, photography was still fine art’s second-class citizen, and galleries dedicated exclusively to the medium were few. In spite of photography’s limited collector appeal, Jane Jackson opened Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, Georgia to change the way people viewed and valued photographic art. Through innovate programming that paired classic and contemporary photography, Ms. Jackson introduced Atlanta’s collectors to works by Horst P. Horst, Harry Callahan, and Sally Mann, among others.
Sheet Changing Day, 1994, Sally Mann
Joining the gallery in 1998, Anna Walker Skillman proved instrumental in its evolution and in 2003 purchased the gallery when Ms. Jackson became curator of Sir Elton John’s prestigious and extensive photography collection. Gracefully ushering the gallery into the age of the internet and social media, Ms. Walker Skillman has continued to exhibit some of photography’s most loved legends, as well as showcase artists who are on the rise. Together, these two women have cemented the gallery’s reputation as one of photography’s biggest champions.
NY, 1972, Helen Levitt
This year, Jackson Fine Art celebrates its 30th anniversary with 30 Years of Women, an exhibition featuring some of the most distinguished female voices in 20th and 21st century photography.
Despite the attention on women artists in the last few years, female photographers still struggle to achieve the same recognition as their male colleagues. In this exhibition, Jackson Fine Art takes steps toward rewriting the art history narrative. The dynamic salon style installation blends vintage works by pioneering women photographers including Lillian Bassman, Diane Arbus, and Berenice Abbott, and contemporary photographers such as Zanele Muholi, Hellen van Meene, Jocelyn Lee, and Amy Friend. By exhibiting these works in the same space, the lineage of art history is thoughtfully represented. Each artist’s original viewpoint is given space to shine, while still acknowledging the influence that each generation of formidable female photographers has had on the next. Co-curated by Ms. Jackson and Ms. Walker Skillman, the show represents the gallery’s evolving vision and the strong female relationships that have defined it for three decades.
Harper’s Bazaar, Dovima, 1954, Lillian Bassman
The Kiss, 2017, Elinor Carucci
A Young Man and His Pregnant Wife in Washington Square Park, N.Y.C., 1965, Diane Arbus
Riding the Apple Tree, 2016, Jocelyn Lee
Nightview, New York at Night, Empire State Building, 1932, Berenice Abbott
Master of Seduction, Amer Fort, Amer, 2017, Karen Knorr
Latent Light, 2012, Amy Friend
30 Years of Women is on view at Jackson Fine Art through April 11, 2020.