Barbara Jaffe was born and raised in New York City and makes her home in Greenwich Village.
Her work is in many public and private collections in the U.S. and Europe including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Germany, Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland and corporate collections such as IBM and the Sprint Corporation.
For many years she has been drawn to the self-luminous world of the negative print where most of her questions about photography, reality and the eye converge. This special light also describes a space that is strikingly real and yet metaphysical in nature allowing her to create work that is mysterious, psychological and surreal.
Barbara Jaffe has been the recipient of a prestigious New York Foundation for the Arts award as well as a beneficiary of grants from Eastman Kodak and the Polaroid Corporation.
Her photographs have been widely exhibited, most notably at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi, Belgium, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Roemer Museum in Germany, and the Heckscher Museum, New York.
Jaffe was teaching at Parsons School of Design and Sarah Lawrence College when, in 1995, she was hired to run the Photography Program in the Department of Fine Arts, Design, Art History at Hofstra University’s School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts in New York. She is now Professor Emerita, having retired in 2020.
COLLECTIONS
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
Philadelphia Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Nash Editions, Los Angeles, CA
William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut, CT
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi, Belgium
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
JJ Brookings Gallery, San Jose, CA
Candace Perich Gallery, Katonah, NY
IBM Corporation, New York, NY
Polaroid Corporation, Boston, MA
Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, NY
Sprint Corporation/World Headquarters, Overland Park, KS
SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Helmut Gernsheim Collection, Castagnola, Switzerland
Bert Hartkamp, Amerongen, The Netherlands
Henry Buhl, New York, NY
Manfred Heiting, Brussels, Belgium
Gary and Healy Cosay Collection, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Victor Shargai & Associates, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Alfonso Pluchinotta, Padova, Italy
Lawrence Shainberg & Vivian Bower, New York, NY
Dr. Gladys Foxe, New York, NY
Jaime Reyes & Judy Karp, Brooklyn, NY
| 2023 | Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY; Photo of the Week #260; Image from Forest of Ghosts selected for weekly spotlight highlighting one photographer |
| AIPAD Annual Fair & Photography Show, New York, NY; Group exhibition presented by Laurence Miller Gallery; March 30 - April 2, 2023 | |
| 2022 | Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY; Dark Sun; Solo Exhibition |
| Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY; Photo of the Week #195; Image from Dark Sun selected for weekly spotlight highlighting one photographer | |
| 2014 | The William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT; CHEM 101: The Science of Photography; Group Exhibition |
| The Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY; Modern Alchemy: Experiments in Photography; Group Exhibition with Man Ray, Adam Fuss, Ellen Carey & Jerry Uelsmann | |
| 2012 | Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, Mannheim, Germany; The Birth of Photography - Highlights of the Gernsheim Collection; Group Exhibition |
| 2008 | May Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, MO; Dark Sun; Solo Exhibition |
| 2007 | Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY; Sun Pictures to MegaPixels: Pre- and Post-Modernist Photography; Group Exhibition curated by Joel Simpson |
| 2003 | Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, Mannheim, Germany; Fokus Mensch, Man in Focus - Images of Man from the Photography Collection of Helmut Gernsheim |
| Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO; The Photography Show: A Group Exhibition | |
| 2002 | Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, New York, NY; Fairy Tales; Group Exhibition |
| Robert Burge Gallery, New York, NY; Still Life; Group Exhibition with Jim Dine, Douglas Mellor | |
| 2001 | The Parthenon, Nashville, TN; Dark Sun; Solo Exhibition |
| Benham Gallery, Seattle, WA; Visual Fragrance: Floral Interpretations; Group Exhibition | |
| The William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT; The Poetics of Portraiture: From the 16th to the 21st Century; Group Exhibition including Mary Cassatt, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, Chuck Close | |
| 2000 | Robert Burge Gallery, New York, NY; Botanica; Solo Exhibition |
| Arts Center of the Ozarks, Springdale, AR; PhotoAmerica’s: Director’s Choice; Group Exhibition | |
| The Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ; A New View: Worked Images by Contemporary Photographers; Group Exhibition | |
| 1999 | Dorrance Hamilton Hall, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Dark Sun; Solo Exhibition |
| 1998 | Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra Museum, Hempstead, NY; Faculty Exhibition: Department of Fine Arts, Art History and Graduate Humanities; Group Exhibition |
| 1997 | Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY; Glorious Gardens; Group Exhibition |
| Lubbock Fine Arts Center, Lubbock, TX; Illuminance; Group Exhibition; Juror: Terence Piks, Director, Center for Creative Photography Dark Sun #18 chosen as the sole image for the invitation | |
| 1996 | Candace Perich Gallery, Ridgefield, CT; In Bloom; Group Exhibition |
| The Studio at Curly Willow, East Hampton, NY; Summer Close-up; Group Exhibition | |
| 1995 | Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, Germany; Contemporary Photography from the Gernsheim Collection; Group Exhibition including Imogen Cunningham, Aaron Siskind, Robert Capa, Henry Peach Robinson, Louis J.M. Daguerre, Fox Talbot & Julia M. Cameron |
| Ikona Photo Gallery, Venice, Italy; Contemporary Photography from the Gernsheim Collection; Group Exhibition including Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz | |
| Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, NY; H20 – Vintage and Contemporary Photographs of Water; Group exhibition including Adam Fuss, Lillian Bassman, Harry Callahan, Hiroshi Sugimoto | |
| Robert Burge Gallery, New York, NY; Flowers; Group Exhibition | |
| Rosenberg Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; Dark Sun; Solo Exhibition | |
| 1993 | Robert Burge Gallery, New York, NY; Flora; Solo Exhibition |
| G.W. Einstein Gallery, New York, NY; Beyond Description – Images of Nature; Group exhibition including Mary Frank, Jennifer Bartlett & Nancy Graves | |
| 1992 | Museum of Modern Art, New York; NY: More Than One Photography – Works since 1980 from the Collection; Group exhibition including Barbara Kruger, Anselm Kiefer, Abelardo Morell, Gilbert & George |
| Silver Image Gallery, Seattle, WA; Historical Preview: 40 Women Photographers; Group Exhibition | |
| Hampton Square Gallery, Westhampton, NY; Flora; Solo Exhibition | |
| 1991 | Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland; Recent Acquisitions – 19th & 20th Century; Group Exhibition |
| Bild Photogalerie, Baden, Switzerland; Retrospective 1980 – 1990; Solo Exhibition | |
| Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi, Belgium; Dark Sun: Light from the Negative; Solo Exhibition | |
| 1990 | Nikon Live Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland; Arles ’90; Group Exhibition |
| 1988 | G.W. Einstein Gallery, New York, NY; Artists Choose Artists; Group Exhibition |
| 1987 | SSC&B Lintas Worldwide, New York, NY; Razzle! Dazzle!; Group Exhibition |
| 1984 | H.F. Manes Gallery, New York, NY; Gallery Photographers |
| Alternative Museum, New York, NY; Art & Technics; Solo Exhibition | |
| 1983 | Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA; Camera Movements; Group Exhibition; Juror: Nathan Lyons, Special Purchase Award of Excellence |
| Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY; Unrestricted Color; Group Exhibition; Purchase Award | |
| 1982 | Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; Contemporary Photography as Phantasy; Group Exhibition; Purchase Award |
| 1980 | The Print Club, Philadelphia, PA; 56th Annual International Invitational; Two Purchase Awards |
| 1979 | International Festival of Photography, Arles, France; Recent American Color; Group Exhibition |
| 1976 | ABC-TV FILM; Photographs included in the documentary “The American Woman: Portraits in Courage” Director: Robert Deubel; Writers: Anne Grant & Gaby MonetThis film recreates historical moments and women who fought for equality and freedom throughout the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries. |
| 1975 | Fashion Institute of Technology Galleries, New York, NY; Breadth of Vision: Portfolios of Women Photographers; Jurors: Barbara Morgan, Anne Tucker, Liliane De Cock, Marjorie Neikrug |
| Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Women See Woman; Group Exhibition | |
| Drew University, Madison, NJ; Portrait of a Family; Solo Exhibition | |
| Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT; Women in Photography; Group Exhibition |
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
| 2019 | DARK SUN, Barbara Jaffe, Essay by Lyle Rexer. (New York, NY, Wild Crow Editions, 2019) Hardbound cloth cover, silver embossed with jacket wrap, printed end leaves front & back. 39 images, 80 pp. |
| 2013 | The Birth of Photography: Highlights of the Gernsheim Collection, exh. cat. Claude Sui, Roy Flukinger, Colin Ford & Alfried Wieczorek ed. (Mannheim, Germany, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen & Kehrer Verlag, 2013) Hard cover, 364 pp. |
| Fokus Mensch, Man in Focus – Images of man from the photography collection of Helmut Gernsheim, exh. cat. Essays by Claude Sui, Roy Flukinger, Colin Ford & others. (Mannheim, Germany, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, 2003) Hard cover, 376 pp. | |
| 1999 | Dark Sun, exh. cat. A.D. Coleman (Philadelphia, PA, University of the Arts, 1999) |
| 1996 | Musée de l’Elysée – Museum for Photography, Selected Work from the Museum’s Collection, cat. Charles-Henri Favrod and Daniel Giradin (Lausanne, Switzerland, Musée de l’Elysée, 1996) |
| 1995 | Contemporary Photography from the Gernsheim Collection, exh. cat. Klaus Dierßen and Dieter Luttge. (Hildesheim, Germany, Roemer-Museum, 1995) |
| 1984 | Technics – Art and Machines, exh. cat. Marina LaPalma. (New York, NY, The Alternative Museum, 1984) |
| 1982 | Contemporary Photography as Phantasy: A Visualization of a Theory of Life That Provides a Familiarity with Mystery, exh. Cat. Fred Parker. (Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1982) |
| 1980 | The Print Club, 56/65 – 56th Annual International Invitational, exh. cat. eds. (Philadelphia, PA, The Print Club, 1980) |
| 1975 | Women See Woman, exh. cat. Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Yvonne Kalmus, Sonia Katchian, Rikki Ripp, Geri Davis, eds. (New York, NY, Thomas Crowell, 1975) |
JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS & ARTICLES
| 2004 | Mary Ann Lynch, “Shadows and Their Secrets – The Photography of Barbara Jaffe” Camera Arts, Volume VII, N. 4, June/July 2004. Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| 2001 | A.D. Coleman, “Negative Capability: The Photographs of Barbara Jaffe” Ag: Darkroom Practice & Photography, Volume N. 24, July 2001, London, England |
| Owen McNally, "More Than Skin Deep" Review of the exhibition The Poetics of Portraiture: From the 16th to the 21st Century at the William Benton Museum, The Hartford Courant, June 15, 2001, Hartford, Connecticut. pp. D3 | |
| Barbara Jaffe; Orville Robertson, ed. Artist’s essay accompanied by photographs, Fotophile, The Journal for Creative Photographers, N. 38, Summer 2001, New York, NY | |
| Barbara Jaffe; Richard Burgin, ed. Four photographs from the series “Dark Sun” Boulevard, Vol. 16, N. 3, Spring 2001, St. Louis, MO | |
| 2000 | Barbara Jaffe; Robert Perloff, pub. Cover Photograph, The Photo Review Newsletter, December 1999/January 2000, Langhorne, PA |
| 1997 | Margaret Loke, “Finding Fresh Images for an Evergreen Subject” Review of the exhibition Glorious Gardens at Bonni Benrubi Gallery, The New York Times, June 6, 1997, New York, NY |
| 1993 | Barbara Jaffe, Artist’s essay and 10 photographs from the series “Dark Sun”, Photo Metro, Vol. 11, N. 113, November 1993, San Francisco, CA, pp. 8-11 |
| 1991 | Barbara Jaffe, Two full page photographs from the series “Flora” Nikon-News, N. 3, October 1991, Melville, NY, pp. 44-45 |
| Georges Vercheval, “Lumière noir” Review of the exhibition Dark Sun: Light from the Negative at the Musée de la Photographie, Photographie Ouvert, N. 74, February/March 1991, Charleroi, Belgium | |
| Review of the exhibition Barbara Jaffe Retrospective 1980 - 1990 at Bild Photogalerie, Badener Tagblatt, February 1991, Baden, Switzerland | |
| 1990 | Review of the exhibition Arles ‘90 at Nikon Live Galerie, Badener Tagblatt, October, 1990, Baden Switzerland |
| 1983 | Pier Paolo Pree, “Album di Famiglia” Il Fotografo, January 1983, pp. 84-87 |
| 1980 | Andy Grundberg, “Still Life Comes Alive” Modern Photography, August, 1980, pp. 98-103 |
| 1978 | Barbara Jaffe, Artist’s essay & 11 color photographs from the series “In the Light of Memory” 35MM Photography, Summer 1978, New York, NY, pp. 70-73 |
| 1976 | Nancy Stevens, Review of the exhibition Women See Woman, The Feminist Art Journal, Fall 1976, Brooklyn, NY |
| Anne Dockery, “Woman Sees Through ‘Women See Woman’” Review of the book “Women See Woman” The Village Voice, June 14, 1976, New York, NY | |
| Margaret Berkvist, Review of the book “Women See Woman” The New York Times Book Review, April, 1976, New York, NY | |
| Alice S. Williams, “Shows Seen” Review of the exhibition Portrait of a Family, Popular Photography, February 1976, New York, NY | |
| 1975 | Irving Desfor, “Spotlight on Women” Review of the exhibition Women See Woman, Long Island Press, October 19, 1975, Long Island, NY |
| Fred McDarrah, “Openings” Review of the exhibition Portrait of a Family, The Village Voice, February 10, 1975, New York, NY |
GRANTS, AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
New York State Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY, Artists’ Fellowship. 1991
Eastman Kodak Company, Professional Photography Division, Rochester, NY, Materials grant. 1991
Polaroid Corporation, Worldwide Creative Services Division, Cambridge, MA, Acquisitional and materials grant. 1983
Hofstra University Faculty Development and Research Grant, Monetary award for creative pursuits. 2017, 2016, 2011
Hofstra University Presidential Research Award, Monetary award for creative pursuits. 2006, 2000
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Hofstra University, 1995 – 2020; Tenured Full Professor & Head of Photography Program in the Department of Fine Arts, Design, Art History
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, 1993 – 1995
The New School / Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, 1973 – 1995
International Center of Photography, NY, 1993 – 1994
Columbia University, Columbia Teachers College, New York, NY, 1992 – 1993
New York University, School of Continuing Education, 1979 – 1981
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Associate Editor and Founding Member of PHOTOGRAPH: Journal of Photography, 1975-1976
This periodical grew out of the symposium “The State of Photographic Criticism” that I initiated and coordinated in June 1975 at The New School for Social Research. The panel was moderated by Casey Allen, and included A.D. Coleman, Roberta Hellman, Eva Rubenstein, Jim Hughes and Julia Scully.
