Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones
For more than forty years, on a small riverside farm in Loveland, Ohio, Nancy Ford Cones (1869–1962) created photographs that earned her a national reputation during a time when female artists continued to struggle for recognition. Despite the praise they received during her lifetime, Cones’ imaginative and exquisitely crafted works were largely forgotten after her death. This exhibition resurrects the gifted artist’s career and contributions to the field of photography.
Between about 1900 and 1939, Cones made thousands of photographs that featured country life, fantastical visions, and literary characters, employing the help of neighbors, friends, and family who posed in costume around the farm and its environs. Working in partnership with her husband, James, who printed her work using a variety of techniques and papers, Cones conceived evocative subjects that emulated 19th-century European paintings. Her images were published in prestigious journals such as Camera Craft, as well as in popular outlets that included National Geographic and Kodak advertisements. The first major presentation of Cones’ work, this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue demonstrate that “the Lady from Loveland” was an exceptional artist who rivaled the top photographers of her time.
Download the Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones Gallery Guide as a PDF.
Related Events
Member Preview Opening & Reception for Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones
September 29, 2022
4:00pm – 7:00pm
Passport-holder exclusive. Join the Member Preview Opening Reception for Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones.
*Complimentary shuttle service runs continuously between Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum of Art throughout the evening, with service available for Members and FotoFocus Passport Holders.
Access to the entire FotoFocus Biennial Program Week is a benefit of being a 2022 FotoFocus Biennial Passport holder. GET THE PASSPORT for free entry and exclusive events!
Registration is required: https://embed.showclix.com/event/opening-nfc/listing
Curator Talk for Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones
October 6, 2022
6:30pm – 7:30pm
Passport-holder exclusive. Pepper Stetler, Associate Professor of Art History and FotoFocus guest curator, will discuss the exhibition Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones.
Access to the entire FotoFocus Biennial Program Week is a benefit of being a 2022 FotoFocus Biennial Passport holder. GET THE PASSPORT for free entry and exclusive events!
Registration is required: https://www.taftmuseum.org/Adult-Programs/Talks
Lunch & Learn: Nancy Ford Cones: Behind the Lens
October 28, 2022
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Join Jenny Shives, Loveland Museum Center Curator, to Learn more about Nancy Ford Cones’s personal life and how her photographic work both reflected and directed her experiences.
Registration Required one week in advance: Visit https://www.taftmuseum.org/tickets
Artist Disucssion: A New Take on Nancy Ford Cones
November 3, 2022
6:30pm – 7:30pm
Photographers Tina Gutierrez and Emily Momohara talk about the work featured in Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones; Emily Everhart, Assistant Professor, Art Academy of Cincinnati, moderator.
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Nancy Ford Cones, Portrait of an Unknown Sitter with Butterfly, c. 1920. Positive digital image taken from a glass negative, 8 x 5 inches. Private collection, digitized by Christopher Hoeting
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Nancy Ford Cones, The Dryads, 1931. Silver print, 20 x 16 inches. Loveland Museum Center, Tony Walsh Photography
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Nancy Ford Cones, Mama’s Prize Kodak, c. 1912. Gelatin silver print, image: 6 x 4⅜ inches. Private collection, Tony Walsh Photography
Venue Details
Taft Museum of Art
316 Pike St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 241-0343
Wed–Mon 10am–5pm
Free to FotoFocus Passport Holders in October and Venue’s Members. Military and youth (17 and under) free; $15 adults; $12 seniors. Sundays and Mondays are free
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