The Permanent Collection at ICP contains more than 100,000 photographs. Since its opening in 1974, ICP has acquired important historical and contemporary images through a dedicated acquisitions committee and through generous donations and bequests from photographers and collectors. The collection spans the history of the photographic medium, from daguerreotypes to gelatin silver and digital chromogenic prints.

The collection is strongest in its holdings of American and European documentary photography of the 1930s to the 1990s. It comprises large bodies of work by W. Eugene Smith, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Farm Security Administration photographers, Alfred Eisenstadt, Lisette Model, Gordon Parks, James VanDerZee, and Garry Winogrand. Recent purchases have included work by contemporary photographers such as Carrie Mae Weems, Justine Kurland, Katy Grannan, Vik Muniz, Tomoko Sawada, and Susan Meiselas.

Another component of the collection is a significant group of photographically illustrated magazines, particularly those published between World War I and II, such as Vu, Regards, Picture Post, Lilliput, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung, and LIFE.

Electronic access to ICP's permanent collection is made possible with generous support from the Institute of Museum & Library Services, the Booth Ferris Foundation and the Henry Luce Foundation.

Photo: Garry Winogrand, New York City, 1964 © Garry Winogrand, Gift of Dr. Diane Chen, 1981

ICP received over 3,500 negatives of the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and David Seymour ("Chim"), three of the leading war photographers of the twentieth century. The negatives, made between 1936 and 1939, include some of the most significant war photographs ever made. Read more.

View more recent acquisitions.

Visit the Fans in a Flashbulb blog, where you can view and read about highlights from the Permanent Collection as chosen by ICP staff.

With eMuseum, you can view an extensive selection from the Permanent Collection online. You can also create an account and manage your favorite images.

ICP's web presentation of the collection is supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a Federal Agency.

ICP's Permanent Collection is open to qualified researchers Monday through Friday by appointment only. Please contact us to discuss your research needs and to schedule an appointment.

E-mail: collections@icp.org
Fax: 212.768.4688