visual culture

Slavery and the Civil War were central to the development of photography as both a technology and an art.

In the height of the Cold War, the NSA created a series of posters to keep its secrets from leaking. They're both wonderful and creepy.

A photographer whose work resembles that of a realist novelist, we observe a cast of characters as they change over time.

From lynching photos to Black Lives Matter – what does it mean to look at images of African Americans being murdered?

Why Americans living in uncertain times bought so many sensational images of shipwrecks and fires.

The enduring necessity (and importance) of a nearly 200-year-old technology.

Allison Rudnick on the rise and fall of the 19th century "Literary Poster."

Valentine devoted his time to writing the Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. These were annual compendiums of data about the city.

Meditating on blotter not just as art, or as a historical artifact, but as a kind of media, even a “meta medium.”

The forgotten figure symbolized the hopes—and myths—of the early United States.

A prolific, meticulous artist, McCay created characters and storyscapes that inspired generations of cartoonists and animators.

Tying frilly white doves and normative bride-and-groom couples to feminist art and DIY craft practices that offer opportunities for creativity and fantasy.

The unlikely, true story of the Westinghouse “We Can Do It” work-incentive poster that became an international emblem of women’s empowerment.

In a new land, the ancient past held special meaning.

A new book details the tangled tale of "Ulitsa Sezam," a "Sesame Street" spinoff that aired until visions of Russia's democratic future faltered.

A show at the Jewish Museum surveys three eventful years of art, film, and performance in New York City—and the political upheavals that defined them.

Under the influence of Muscular Christianity, Jesus transformed into a muscle-bound Aryan, saving souls through strength and masculinity.

Satire and an inflated sense of self-importance collide in a series of maps that goes back more than 100 years in American history.

A collaboration between advertiser Joseph Jacobs and the famous coffee company produced the classic U.S. haggadah.

The California Historical Society contrasts how Chinese people were portrayed in the press with the dignified studio portraits taken in Chinatown.