What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843–1999

Exhibition
Dozens of colorful book covers displayed along a timeline

Cover of What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843–1999 (detail), ed. Russet Lederman and Olga Yatskevich (New York: 10×10 Photobooks, 2021). Courtesy 10×10 Photobooks

This pop-up reading room surveys a global history of photobooks by women photographers from the Getty Library. As part of an international series showcasing the 10×10 Photobooks' catalog What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843–1999, it offers an inclusive revision and remapping of the photobook canon. It is complemented by notable photobooks by Southern California women artists after 2000, including Uta Barth, Kristin Bedford, Lauren Bon, Kaucyila Brooke, Jo Ann Callis, Elena Dorfman, Christina Fernandez, Rose-Lynn Fisher, Judy Fiskin, Jona Frank, Lauren Greenfield, Soo Kim, Mona Kuhn, Diana Markosian, Melodie McDaniel, Catherine Opie, Sheila Pinkel, Alex Prager, Randi Malkin Steinberger, and Deanna Templeton.

Public tours are available on Fridays at 1:30pm and Sunday May 11 at 1:30pm. Learn more

This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.

Apr 8–May 11, 2025

Getty Center

Research Institute Galleries

Free

All exhibitions are included in your free, timed-entry reservation to Getty. Reservations are available six weeks in advance. Please note, there is a fee for parking.

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Selected Works

  • Cover from Jill Freedman, Old News: Resurrection City (Bologna: Damiani, 2017)

    Getty Research Institute, E185.615 F73 2017. Photo by Jeff Gutterman

    A black book cover with a black-and-white photo of a woman sitting on the steps in from of a Capitol building

  • Cover from Marianne Wex, ‘Let’s Take Back Our Space’: “Female” and “Male” Body Language as a Result of Patriarchal Structures (Hamburg: Frauenliteraturverlag Hermine Fees, 1979)

    Getty Research Institute, 2023-B51. Photo by Jeff Gutterman

    Cover from Marianne Wex, Let’s Take Back Our Space’... (Hamburg: Frauenliteraturverlag Hermine Fees, 1979), Getty Research Institute, 2023-B51. Photo by Jeff Gutterman.

  • Cover from Hiromix, Hiromix (Göttingen: Steidl, 1998)

    Getty Research Institute, 1543-566. Photo by Jeff Gutterman

    A brightly lit photo of a person with long straight dark hair facing the camera

  • Cover from Zofia Rydet, Mały człowiek [Little Man] (Warsaw: Fundacja Archeologia Fotografii, 2012)

    Getty Research Institute, TR681.C5 R93 2012. Photo by Jeff Gutterman

    A black book cover with yellow dots, some of which feature close-up photos of children

  • Cover from Barbara Kruger, Thinking of You (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999)

    Getty Research Institute 1551-620. Photo by Jeff Gutterman

    An image of a cover of a book in black and white, showing two fingers stabbing another finger with a safety pin. Red text on top of the image reads “Thinking of you.”

Related Events

  1. Poetry in the Garden: Solange Aguilar

    Event

    On the left, a shot of hedges in a pond with the text "Poetry in the Garden" overlaid. On the right, a photo of a person wearing a red flowered dress in front of a tree
    Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 9pm

  2. Poetry in the Garden: Camae Ayewa

    Event

    A photo with a soft filter of a woman with long black dreadlocks in a bun on top of her head
    Wed, Apr 23, 2025, 9pm

  3. Poetry in the Garden: Mia Moretti

    Event

    A woman in a flowing white dress with shoulder-length black straight hair in profile holding a book under her chin
    Wed, Apr 16, 2025, 9pm

  4. Photobooks by Women

    Talk

    A photo of a woman with short brown curly hair and red lipstick looking at the viewer over heart-shaped sunglasses
    Sat, Apr 12, 2025, 1am

Related Tours

Please Touch the Art

Explore a hands-on exhibition of books that show us the world through women’s lenses

Stacks of books on a light wood table in front of a window

GettyGuide® App

Experience the free audio tour on your mobile phone. Download the GettyGuide app. Bring your earphones and join GettyLine for free wifi during your visit.

News & Stories

Exhibition Resources

  1. Gallery Wall Text and Exhibition Checklist (English and Spanish)

    PDF

  2. Exhibition Study Guide

    PDF