International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum

Mission:

To educate the public about photographic history, preserve historical items and images, and honor significant contributors to the evolution of the art and science of photographic imaging.

About Us:

The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum preserves, promotes and educates on the history of photography. It does this by annually inducting key photographers or innovators who have made notable contribution to the art or science of photography, by promoting scholarly research into their work and achievements and collection, preservation and display of related artifacts.

The IPHF also exhibits prints and antique cameras from the permanent collection, and hosts special exhibitions focusing on the art and science of photography. Educational outreach is conducted through the IPHF quarterly journal, which highlights one Hall of Fame Inductee in each publication, along with articles relating to special exhibitions and the permanent collection.

History:

The Hall of Fame is the result of a project began in 1965 by the Photographic Art and Science Foundation. Members of the Professional Photographers of America originally created the foundation to promote photographic history by inducting historically significant photographers and inventors into a Photography Hall of Fame. However, no physical structure existed to commemorate Hall of Fame inductees or to display the Foundation’s photographic and historical resources.

After twelve years of receiving unique prints and antique camera equipment from across the country, the foundation chose to exhibit the growing collection. The original Photography Hall of Fame opened in 1977 as part of the University Museums at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.

In 1983 the International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum moved from the Brooks Institute to the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City. Since first opening our doors on July 15, 1983 the Hall of Fame has traced the art, history and technology of image making. Today over 500 artists and several thousand photographs represent the Hall of Fame’s permanent collection.

In 2013, The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum embarked on the largest capital camapign in its history and relocated the museum to the Grand Center Arts District in St. Louis, Missouri.  The IPHF now occupies 6,000 sq. ft. of gallery and exhibition space in one of the country’s densest cultural districts.  Like the photographic industry itself, the IPHF continues to evolve and find new and innovative ways to stay relevant and achieve its mission.