Frank Stewart’s Nexus: An American Photographer’s Journey, 1960s to the Present

Mary Schmidt Campbell; Cheryl Finley; Fred Moten; conversation by Ruth Fine and Frank Stewart; afterword by Wynton Marsalis.In association with Telfair Museums

The first complete monograph and retrospective on the sixty-year career of Frank Stewart, photographer of an astonishing range of intimate and empathetic images of Black life, music, and culture.Frank Stewart’s Nexus presents an overview of the career of this noted photographer, who since the 1960s has captured spontaneous and sensitive portrayals of African American culture in many forms, including art, food, dance, and music—especially jazz. Best known for his work as senior photographer for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Stewart produced energetic street scenes and profound landscapes on his worldwide travels with the orchestra. The intimate and subtle relations between and among people are at the heart of Stewart’s art, whether shot at a Manhattan jazz concert, in the studio of artist Romare Bearden, or during a sacred rite in an African village. This sweeping survey of 103 images, with an artist interview and texts by multiple critical voices, illuminates the evolution of a remarkable career.Exhibition Itinerary:The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.: June 10–September 2, 2023Artis–Naples, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL: October 14, 2023–January 7, 2024Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA: February 9 – May 12, 2024