The Photography Study Collection is a curated collection of original artist’s prints covering a diverse range of photographic style and technique. These recently acquired images provide photography students at UNT an opportunity to view and safely handle vintage fine art prints in person. Students using the Photography Study Collection will have an opportunity to examine different printing techniques including digital chromogenic prints, gelatin silver prints, archival inkjet prints and prints on fabric. The collection also includes different representations of artist’s work including signed prints, artist’s portfolios, and artist’s books.

Professors Paho Mann and Dornith Doherty selected the prints for inclusion in the Photography Study Collection and worked with several galleries in Dallas to arrange the acquisition of prints including PDNB Gallery, Liliana Bloch Gallery, and Talley Dunn Gallery.

In addition to the work of professional artists, Mann and Doherty selected a UNT student portfolio to add to the collection. This summer the library acquired the work of graduate student Melissa Gamez-Herrara for the Photography Study Collection. Her artist’s book titled “En sus propias palabras (In Her Own Words): Words from Maquiladora Workers on the U.S.-Mexico Border was purchased in summer 2019.

Additional artists represented in the collection include:

• Keith Carter
• Rachel Cox
• Letitia Huckaby
• Leigh Merrill
• Jeanine Michna-Bales
• Delilah Montoya
• Geoff Winningham

The Photography Study Collection currently includes 18 photographs and four portfolios representing the work of eight early to mid-career artists. Each year the Special Collections department will add several artist’s prints to the collection, in addition to a UNT photography student purchase prize.

The Photography Study Collection is available for research use on-site in the Sarah T. Hughes Reading Room. To schedule an appointment to use the collection please request access through the collection finding aid.

The Photography Study Collection is part of a growing archive of photographic materials at UNT including photojournalism, documentary, fine art, and architectural photography, as well as street and vernacular photography. A growing body of resources on the history of photography is also available in Special Collections, including samples of original daguerreotypes, tintypes, carte de visites, cabinet cards, postcard photography and photographic ephemera such as early photography supply catalogs and camera manuals. More information about all of these collections is available through our website or by contacting UNT Special Collections at specialcollections@unt.edu.