SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.- The Henry Art Gallery presents the exhibit Current: River Photography from the Monsen Collection through September 17. Over the ages, rivers have sculpted the western American landscape. These same rivers symbolically trace the paths of U.S. history. On view in this exhibition, photographs by William Henry Jackson and Carleton Watkins, which initially documented expeditions, quickly sparked the public’s fancy with views of sublime, unusual beauty. Recent images by Mitch Epstein and Joel Sternfeld underscore how powerfully rivers still captivate our imagination. Both the historical and contemporary works reflect upon the contentious relationship between humans and the forces of nature we have long sought to harness.

The Monsen collection is widely acknowledged as the most important collection of photography on the west coast. The Henry will houses one of the most comprehensive collections of photography in the United States.

Joseph Monsen is an emeritus professor of economics with the UW. Elaine Monsen is a professor and director of the Nutritional Sciences program at the UW School of Public Heath and Community Medicine, and an adjunct professor at the School of Medicine.

The Monsens began their collection in the 1960s, when, according to former Henry Art Gallery Chief Curator Chris Bruce, "nobody knew quite what to do with photography." The Monsens' aggressive acquisition of then-undervalued photographic work resulted in the most complete collection of photography on the west coast, if not the entire country.

"The collection is unique in its comprehensive coverage of the history of art photography," Andrews said. The Monsens' collection spans every major technical and aesthetic development in the history of photography. It includes work ranging from salt prints and calotypes printed only a few years after photography's invention in 1839 to infamous examples of '80s postmodernism.

Most of the images in the collection were shown at the Henry Art Gallery in a 1994 exhibition called After Art: Rethinking 150 Years of Photography.

The collection includes photography by the foremost masters of the medium. The Henry's collection has significant works by Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Lewis Hine, Ansel Adams, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul Strand, Man Ray, Minor White Cindy Sherman, and numerous other important names in the history of photography.

The photographs, valued at over $2 million, were acquired by the Henry through gifts from The Boeing Company and the Monsens. After Director Andrews discussed the possibility of acquiring the collection with the Monsens, he approached Boeing for funding. Boeing agreed to donate $1.5 million to pay for the bulk of the acquisition. The Monsens donated the rest.