By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. Photography played a significant role both in preparing for the mission and in shaping the cultural consciousness of the event. An exhibition of some 50 works will include a selection of photographs from the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions that led up to Apollo 11. The landmark event will be represented by glass stereographs, taken on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, showing close-up views of three-inch-square areas of the lunar surface, as well as iconic NASA and press photographs of the astronauts that were disseminated widely in the wake of the mission's success. Additionally, a select survey of lunar photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries features works ranging from Warren de la Rue's late 1850s glass stereograph of the full moon to a suite of Charles Le Morvan's rich, velvety photogravures from Carte photographique et systematique de la lune, published in 1914, which attempted to systematically map the entire visible lunar surface. These photographs, from the 19th century to the "space-age" 1960s, merged art and science and transformed the way that we envision and comprehend the cosmos.

The exhibition is curated by Diane Waggoner, curator of 19th-century photographs, National Gallery of Art.

previous slides

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Warren De La Rue, Full Moon, 1858-1859, printed 1862, stereoscopic glass transparency, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2006.170.1

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Lewis M. Rutherfurd, Photographie de la lune a son 1er Quartier, March 6, 1865, albumen print, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2006.133.115

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Loewy et Puiseux, Maurice Loewy, Pierre Henri Puiseux, Photographie Lunaire Rayonnement de Tycho - Phase Croissante, 1899, photogravure, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2006.133.90

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Charles Le Morvan, Carte photographique de la lune, planche XVII.A (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate XVII.A), August 27, 1902, printed 1914, photogravure, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2018.22.1.41

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lunar Orbiter, Medium Resolution, LOIV M-082, May 16, 1967, 3 gelatin silver prints, tape, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2018.177.20

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Earthrise Across Mare Smythii, July 16-24, 1969, chromogenic print, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2018.177.24

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Neil Armstrong, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Buzz Aldrin Poses with Flag, July 20, 1969, chromogenic print, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2018.177.26

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Buzz Aldrin's Footprint, July 20, 1969, gelatin silver print, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2018.177.23

By the Light of the Silvery Moon A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11

William Paul Taub, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Title from caption on object: "This Was the Celebration Scene in Mission Control...”, July 24, 1969, gelatin silver print, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon, 2018.21.21

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Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Passes: Admission is always free and passes are not required