Aperture Foundation web site

A P E R T U R E F O U N D A T I O N

> Click here to see a snapshot history of Aperture (PDF 1MB).

Aperture—the premier not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to advancing fine photography—was founded in 1952 by six profoundly gifted individuals possessed of lofty ideals and high ambition: photographers Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Barbara Morgan, and Minor White; historian Beaumont Newhall; and writer/curator Nancy Newhall. With scant resources, these prescient artists created a new periodical, Aperture magazine, to serve the medium, and photography users and fine art lovers worldwide.

For more than fifty years, Aperture magazine has been unrivalled in its excellence and critical acclaim. And, as photography and the medium grew, so too did the Aperture Foundation, expanding to include the subsequent publication of books, limited edition prints and portfolios, traveling exhibitions, and an educational program that includes lectures and panel discussions with artists, curators, and other key players in the field of photography.

With profound respect for the integrity of the viewer’s experience and the artist’s vision, Aperture presents to the public the finest photographic images that are faithful to the artist’s intent and to the truth of the subject. These images are conveyed as intended by the artist, uncompromised by commercial motive, marketplace trends, or external censorship...Here