Teacher Workshop | Photographic Memory: Fifty Years of Collecting

Join educators for an exploration of Photographic Memory: Fifty Years of Collecting, an exhibition celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery’s photography collection. Featuring more than one hundred works spanning the Daguerreian era to the digital age, the exhibition traces the evolution of photographic portraiture while highlighting photography’s unique role in documenting the people who have shaped the nation’s history.

Through close-looking activities and inquiry-based discussion, participants will examine how photographic portraits serve as both works of art and historical documents. Educators will explore how advances in photographic technology transformed portrait making and expanded opportunities for representation, allowing the museum to collect and share the stories of individuals who never sat for painted or sculpted portraits.

Designed to support classroom instruction across history, civics, visual arts, media literacy, and language arts, this workshop will model strategies for using photographs as primary sources and encourage students to think critically about images as evidence. Participants will leave with classroom-ready resources, discussion prompts, and teaching approaches that connect the history of photography to broader conversations about representation, memory, and the construction of the American story.

Recommended for: Grades 4–12 social studies, history, civics, visual arts, media literacy, and English language arts educators

Learning Goals

· Explore the history and evolution of photographic portraiture from the nineteenth century to today

· Analyze photographs as primary sources that reveal individual stories and historical contexts

· Examine how photography expanded representation within the National Portrait Gallery’s collection

· Investigate themes of identity, memory, and historical interpretation through portrait photography

· Develop inquiry-based strategies that help students critically analyze and interpret visual media

The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have questions about the accessibility of this program, or if you would like to request real-time captioning (CART), sign language interpretation, or any other accommodations, please contact Vanessa Jones at [email protected]. Two weeks advance notice is appreciated for requesting accommodations.

Image Credit: Credit: Dolley Madison by John Plumbe Jr., quarter-plate daguerreotype, c. 1846. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian National Board; Ann S. and Samuel M. Mencoff; Joseph L. and Emily K. Gidwitz Memorial Foundation; Robert B. and Lynne B. Uhler; John H. Simpson; Armeane and Mary Choksi; Tim Lindholm and Lucy Gaylord Lindholm; Ronald and Christina Gidwitz; Ronnyjane Goldsmith; Elena and Robert Allbritton. (Detail)