Beneath the Surface (Exhibition Opening)
Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography is a major new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art that presents nearly 200 years of American photographs documenting the extraction of natural resources. Featuring some 150 works, the show traces how photographers from the 19th century to the present have captured mining, drilling, and fracking—industries that often occur underground or out of sight—revealing both the processes that power modern life and their profound impact on people and the planet. The exhibition includes daguerreotypes, gelatin silver prints, and inkjet prints by artists ranging from Edward Weston and Richard Avedon to contemporary photographers such as Cara Romero and David Maisel. Organized by the National Gallery’s Diane Waggoner and the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Kristen Gaylord, the exhibition will travel to the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art after its Washington run.
Name: Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography
Venue: National Gallery of Art, West Building, Main Floor, Gallery M74, 6th and Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20565
When: May 23 – August 23, 2026. The museum is open daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with extended Sculpture Garden hours until 8:00 p.m. on select nights through September 5.
Admission: Always free; no passes required.
Description: The exhibition gathers approximately 150 photographs spanning 185 years, from a circa 1855 daguerreotype of a California gold miner to contemporary works addressing the environmental and social costs of resource extraction. Themes include the human labor of mining, the industrial landscapes of oil and coal, and the often-hidden infrastructure that sustains modern energy consumption. Selected artists include Jack Delano, Milton Rogovin, Mitch Epstein, and Cara Romero, among many others.
Curators: Diane Waggoner, acting head and curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, and Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Traveling Venues: Milwaukee Art Museum, October 23, 2026 – January 18, 2027; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, February 14 – May 9, 2027.
Support: Major support provided by the Center for Contemporary Documentation, with leadership support from the Trellis Charitable Fund and additional support from Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman.
Related Programs: The exhibition is accompanied by a series of film screenings at the National Gallery, including *Giant* (August 8), *Kameradschaft* and *Oil: A Symphony in Motion* (August 9), *Harlan County, USA* (August 15), and *The Miners' Hymns* with *Louisiana Story* (August 16). Registration is required for each film.
Note: The museum also presents the concurrent exhibition *In the Library: Photobooks and American Energy*, and the ongoing display *Women and the Index of American Design*.