Life Dances On:
Robert Frank in Dialogue

September 15, 2024 – January 11, 2025

The Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art announces Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, an exhibition that will provide new insights into the interdisciplinary and lesser-known aspects of photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank’s expansive career. The exhibition will delve into the six decades that followed Frank’s landmark photobook The Americans (1958) until his death in 2019, highlighting his perpetual experimentation and collaborations across various mediums. Coinciding with the centennial of his birth and taking its name from the artist’s 1980 film, Life Dances On will explore Frank’s artistic and personal dialogues with other artists and with his communities. The exhibition will feature more than 200 objects, including photographs, films, books, and archival materials, drawn from MoMA’s extensive collection alongside significant loans.

In conjunction with Life Dances On, MoMA also presents Robert Frank’s Scrapbook Footage from September 15, 2024, through March 2025, and The Complete Robert Frank: Films and Videos, 1959–2017 from November 20 through December 11, 2024.

Organized by Lucy Gallun, Curator, with Kaitlin Booher, Newhall Fellow, and Casey Li, 12 Month Intern, Department of Photography.

Leadership support for the exhibition is provided by the Noel and Harriette Levine Endowment.

Generous funding is provided by the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.

Major support for the publication is provided by Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder through The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. Generous funding is provided by the John Szarkowski Publications Fund.

Press Kit

Images

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Robert Frank. From the Bus, New York. 1958. Gelatin silver print, 13 15/16 × 13 1/4″ (35.4 × 33.7 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Robert Frank Collection, Robert B. Menschel Fund. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Jack Kerouac. 1959. Gelatin silver print, 10 ⅞ x 8 5/16” (27.7 x 21.1 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Marvin Israel and Raoul Hague, Woodstock, New York. 1962. Gelatin silver print, 11 1/8 × 16 7/8″ (28.3 × 42.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. James Baldwin. c. 1963. Gelatin silver print, 13 15/16 × 9 13/16″ (35.4 × 24.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Goodbye Mr. Brodovitch—I Am Leaving New York. 1971. Gelatin silver print, 15 7/8 × 19 15/16″ (40.3 × 50.6 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift of Michael Jesselson. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Pablo’s Bottle at Bleecker Street, New York City. 1973. Gelatin silver print, 19 13/16 × 15 7/8″ (50.3 × 40.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift of Michael Jesselson. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Andrea. 1975. Five gelatin silver prints and ink on paper, 10 15/16 × 13 7/8″ (27.8 × 35.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, NY. Gift of the June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation in honor of Clément Chéroux and Lucy Gallun. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Mabou Winter Footage. 1977. Gelatin silver print, 23 11/16 × 14 3/4″ (60.1 × 37.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired by exchange with the artist. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Mabou. 1977. Gelatin silver print, 7 5/16 × 19 5/16″ (18.5 × 49 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Robert and Gayle Greenhill. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank, Look Out for Hope, Mabou—New York City. 1979. Gelatin silver print, 23 3/4 × 19 7/8″ (60.3 × 50.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift of Michael Jesselson. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. New York City, 7 Bleecker Street. September 1993. Gelatin silver print, 15 15/16 × 19 13/16″ (40.5 × 50.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift of Michael Jesselson. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Robert Frank. Would Like to Exchange Cards with You, Souvenirs Preferred. 2002. Gelatin silver print, 10 13/16 × 13 7/8″ (27.4 × 35.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist. © 2024 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation

Installation view, Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from September 15, 2024, through January 11, 2025. Photo by Jonathan Dorado © 2024 The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Life Dances On:Robert Frank in Dialogue

Press Kit

Images

Life Dances On:
Robert Frank in Dialogue