TUCSON — "Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna," the first survey of the prolific career of American photographer Rosalie (Rollie) Thorne McKenna (1918–2003), will open at the University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography with a public reception Jan. 30.

 

After graduating from Vassar College in 1940, McKenna built a prolific independent career as an architectural and portrait photographer, making unique yet underrecognized contributions to American modernism and documentary photography. Her work appeared in major publications including Fortune, Harper’s, Vanity Fair and Vogue, and her architectural photographs were featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s landmark 1955 exhibition, "Latin American Architecture Since 1945."

 

Opening Reception

"Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna”

Center for Creative Photography

Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30p

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McKenna is also known for her iconic portraits of prominent artists and writers, including W. H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Alexander Calder, Truman Capote, T. S. Eliot, Laura Gilpin, Henry Moore, Sylvia Plath, Ezra Pound, Anne Sexton, Dylan Thomas and Eudora Welty. 

McKenna used her camera to forge an unusual path for a woman in mid-20th century America toward both personal and creative freedom. She embraced the medium as a way to explore the true complexity of human experience, including her own.

 

Presentation / Conversation

An opening reception will take place Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m., beginning with a presentation by curator Jessica D. Brier, followed by a conversation between Brier and University of Arizona School of Art photography student Sage Marshall. The program will be followed by a reception with light fare and refreshments and a viewing of the exhibition. 

 

Center for Creative Photography

Free Admission

Hours: Tues.-Sat., 10a-4:30p

 

"Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna is a traveling exhibition organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College. This is a unique presentation of the exhibition for the Center for Creative Photography organized by Mary-Kay Lombino, deputy director and Emily Hargroves Fisher ’57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator, and Jessica D. Brier, curator of photography. The exhibition is generously supported by the Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation.

 

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