A visit to "Truth Beauty" at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC was prompted by an interest in early photographs. The exhibition focuses on Pictorialism, the era during 1880-1910 when photography became available to many and seen as a way to make art (the dry-plate process was introduced in the 1870s, and Kodak camera in 1888). The works in the show are painterly, lush and utterly gorgeous. Surprisingly several women were included, and not just as naked models. Photographer Eva Watson-Schütze predicted: “There will be a new era, and women will fly into photography." This heady period of new freedoms is worth a look.

by Eva Watson-Schütze

by Gertrude Kasebier

by Alice Boughton