KANSAS CITY, MO.- More than 60 photographs made during the civil rights era are on display in Through the Lens: Visions of African American Experience, 1950–1970. Featured are works by seven photographers: Danny Lyon, Bruce Davidson, Charles Moore, James Karales, W. Eugene Smith, Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava. The exhibition opened November 18, 2015 and will be on view through April 3, 2016.

The years between 1950 and 1970 were a time of tumultuous social and political change in the United States. Along with the nation’s focus on the fight for civil rights, there was increased interest in the art, culture and experience of ordinary African Americans. Photographers responded by focusing on different aspects of African American experience.

“This important exhibition, featuring many works from our renowned photography collection, focuses on a vital period in American history and culture,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, the Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “Significantly, the moments that have been captured by photographers tell a narrative that continues today.”

Through the Lens highlights the different intentions and contexts in which these photographs were made and seen.

Photographers such as Bruce Davidson, Charles Moore and Danny Lyon made images that bore witness to the events of the civil rights movement with the intention of inspiring social change. Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith and James Karales used the photo-essay format to tell extended stories in visual terms, celebrating everyday heroes and highlighting the impact of integration and segregation in small communities. Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava drew upon music and literary culture to create artistic and poetically expressive works.

“The photographs in Through the Lens were made for a variety of reasons,” said April M. Watson, Curator of Photography. “It is important to highlight these contexts, to suggest the degree to which photography permeated our visual culture, and shaped our collective cultural understanding of this important period in American history.”