Current Exhibits
Sirlin Studios Collection: A Community Portrait
Location: CSH Reading Room
Exhibition Dates: October 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012
Cost: Free
Hours: Open during normal business hours
Theodore “Ted” Sirlin, a 23-year old military-trained photographer, opened Sirlin Studios in 1946 in downtown Sacramento. His goal was to “capture and reflect the beauty, strength, and sensitivity of the subjects he photographed.” With cameras and various photographic tools, Sirlin Studios documented it all: school groups, sports teams, local families and weddings, as well as official portraits of city, county, and state representatives. Sirlin and his team of assistants truly captured life in Sacramento. In 2009, Ted Sirlin passed away. A year later his family donated his work to the Center for Sacramento History. The images from the Sirlin Collection are more than mere documents – they create a collective portrait of our community.
This exhibition is presented by the Center for Sacramento History; curated by Rebecca Crowther.
Commercial Photographers of the Sacramento Valley: 1900 – 1945
Location: Center for Sacramento History Reading Room
Exhibition Dates: February 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011
Cost: Free
Hours: Open during normal business hours
This exhibition represents applications of commercial photographers in the Sacramento region during the first half of the twentieth century. The artistic expression of Sackrider’s Studio, Merritt Nickerson, McCurry Foto Co., Clara Sheldon Smith, David Joslyn, and Gladding, McBean & Co. embody the distinctive characteristics of commercial photography of the period and provide a visual history of the Sacramento Valley.
Commercial photographers shot images for a specific purpose or job request – whether it was a portrait, product advertisement, or a special event. Businesses, special interest groups, individuals, and government used photography for these purposes. Whether for art or commerce, photographers employed the medium to convey meaning without the use of words. McCurry Foto Co. expressed this concept clearly with their company motto of the 1930s: “Did you ever use a photograph instead of a thousand words?”
This exhibition is presented by the Center for Sacramento History; curated by Lisa C. Prince and Rebecca Crowther.
Living with Trees
Location: Robert T. Matsui Gallery at City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento (H Street lobby)
Exhibition Dates: August 4, 2010 – ongoing
Cost: Free
Hours: Open during normal business hours
Reception: August 4, 2010
Announcement: Invitation (pdf); Press Release (pdf)
Trees are Sacramento’s crowning glory. Anyone who has strolled beneath the cooling, canopy of towering elms and sycamores knows the city is graced by a special relationship with trees. The exhibition Living with Trees is a snapshot of this complex relationship. Photographs of tree‐lined boulevards, parks, and residential foliage evoke an appreciation for natural beauty and 150‐years of commitment to trees based on a profound understanding of the benefits that trees offer. Many of the images, however, show some of the drawbacks of trees.
This exhibition is presented by the Center for Sacramento History and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and sponsored by the Sacramento Tree Foundation; curated by Lisa C. Prince.
Comments left by exhibition visitors can be read here (pdf).
