Is there another city that has taught photographers as much as New York?
For generations, photographers have come to New York City to learn how to see.
Robert Frank moved through its crowds in the 1950s. Diane Arbus photographed its people. Lee Friedlander found pictures in sidewalks, reflections and storefront glass. Stephen Shore set up his 8×10 camera on Manhattan streets and waited.
New York supplied the faces, architecture, drama and chance encounters.
Photography preserved them.
For 74 years, Aperture has helped shape photography.
Its books and magazine introduced photographers, preserved bodies of work and brought important pictures to generations of readers.
Now Aperture has a permanent public home.
This September, Aperture opened its new space at 380 Columbus Avenue and West 78th Street, across from the American Museum of Natural History and steps from Central Park.
Admission is free. Thank you.
For photographers visiting New York, this is a must-see.
A Love Letter in 24 Photographers
For its first show, Aperture chose New York.
Aperture Loves New York, on view through November 1, brings together 24 photographers who photographed the city across generations.
Executive Director Sarah Meister curated the exhibition.
“I wanted the installation to convey the depth and range of artistic relationships with the city,” Meister told us, “while also introducing Aperture to our new neighbors.”
The lineup spans decades.
Diane Arbus. Lee Friedlander. Nan Goldin. Danny Lyon. Stephen Shore.
Carrie Mae Weems. Dawoud Bey. Coreen Simpson. Ernest Cole.
Deana Lawson. Tyler Mitchell. Ethan James Green. Anastasia Samoylova.
Samoylova’s Two Cars, East Harlem was photographed in 2024.
Robert Frank’s print dates to 1955.
Together, the photographs cover nearly seventy years of New York.
The Print and the Page
Each photograph hangs beside the Aperture book where the work appeared.
“Seeing a photograph on the wall is very different from encountering that same image in a book,” Meister said, where its meaning is shaped by the pictures and words around it, along with sequencing, scale and design.
She’s right.
A photograph on a wall has to stand on its own.
Is there something to experience in the photograph?
Put the same photograph in a book and its role changes.
Now it has neighbors.
The photograph before it changes how you enter the image. The photograph after it changes what you carry away.
This is one of Aperture’s strengths.
The photograph matters.
The edit and sequence shape the image and how we see it.
This will be an experience.
A Robert Frank Homecoming
Meister has a favorite in the show.
Robert Frank’s New York City, 1955–56 is a vintage gelatin-silver print mounted on masonite. She had admired the print for years in the Frank Foundation’s storage.
She calls it “a destination-worthy photograph.”
Aperture has a long history with Frank.
It published The Americans in 1968 and released a new edition in 2024 for the centennial of his birth.
The Americans became one of photography’s most influential books.
Frank photographed an America filled with highways, diners, flags, cars, crowds and people caught between moments.
His pictures changed street photography and influenced generations of photographers.
Now one of those original prints hangs in Aperture’s new home in New York.
A fitting place for it.
An 1886 Building with Its Doors Open
Aperture’s new home occupies the first two floors of an 1886 building on Columbus Avenue.
Architecture firm LEVENBETTS kept much of the building’s historic character while opening the space to the street.
Visitors can see the offices and production areas where Aperture’s books and magazine are made.
“Aperture is a publisher, but it is also a cultural platform with a legacy that spans more than seventy years,” said Cathy M. Kaplan, Chair of Aperture’s Board.
The new space puts the whole process in view.
Photographs hang on the walls.
Books fill the shelves.
Editors, designers and writers work nearby.
Meister calls Aperture “a living organization.”
You can stop in, look at photographs, browse the books or hear a talk.
You can also see some of the work behind the books and magazine.
Plan Your Visit
- Where: 380 Columbus Avenue at West 78th Street, Upper West Side
- Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm. Sunday, 12 pm to 5 pm
- Admission: Free
- On view: Aperture Loves New York through November 1, 2026
- Talks: Gillian Laub with Jil Weinstock on Wednesday, October 14, and Coreen Simpson with Rujeko Hockley on Wednesday, October 21. Tickets at aperture.org/events
- Nearby: The American Museum of Natural History, the New York Historical and Central Park
Take your time with the prints and books.
Then step outside with your camera.
Central Park is a few minutes away, and the Upper West Side is full of pictures.
Aperture has spent 74 years putting photography into books and magazines.
Now it has a home you can walk into.
“We want there always to be another reason to return,” Meister said.
See the photographs. Pick up a book. Then go photograph New York.
Join the discussion in the forum.
Elevate Your Vision
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