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Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones

October 1, 2022–January 15, 2023 | Fifth Third Gallery

On a small riverside farm in Loveland, Ohio, Nancy Ford Cones 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’s 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. To create her images, she employed 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.

Nancy Ford Cones's photographs were published in prestigious journals such as Camera Craft, as well as in popular outlets that included National Geographic magazine and Kodak advertisements. The first major presentation of her work, this exhibition and its accompanying catalog will demonstrate that she was an exceptional artist who rivaled the top photographers of her time.

GET TICKETS

Save on admission when you buy online! Admission is free for Taft members, military, and youth (18 and under); $12 for adults; $10 for seniors. Non-members save $2 by purchasing tickets online. Sundays are free!

Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), Mama’s Kodak, about 1912, gelatin silver print, 6 x 4 3/8 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry
Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), View of Cincinnati from Mt. Adams, about 1929, autochrome glass plate, 3 1/4 x 4 in. Loveland Museum Center, 2000.018.02
Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), Portrait of an Unknown Sitter with Butterfly, about 1920, positive digital image taken from a glass negative with drawing, 8 x 5 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry, digitized by Christopher Hoeting
Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), The Abode of the Gnomes, about 1921, kallitype tissue print, 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry
Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), On the Riverbank, about 1908, bromide print, 4 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. Cincinnati Art Museum, Gift of Carl Jacobs, 2001.314
Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), Mrs. Lawrence Smith and Baby, 1932, gelatin silver print, 7 3/4 x 9 in. Private collection

Experience the Exhibition

Enjoy special tours, behind-the-scenes insights, and more during this unique exhibition!

 

Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), Mrs. Lawrence Smith and Baby, 1932, gelatin silver print, 7 3/4 x 9 in. Private collection

Nancy Ford Cones (American, 1869–1962), Mrs. Lawrence Smith and Baby, 1932, gelatin silver print, 7 3/4 x 9 in. Private collection

Public Tours | Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones

On-Site Program

Select Sundays
1:30–2:15 p.m.

Enjoy docent-led tours of the Taft’s special exhibition, Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones.
Available with general admission reservations. Capacity is limited. Tours meet in Fifth Third Lobby. Includes admission to Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones and the museum’s permanent collection galleries located in the Taft historic house. 

REGISTER FOR ADMISSION

Exhibition Sponsors

The Kaplan Foundation

  

Exhibition Support Generously Provided by

Ellen and George Rieveschl Endowment

Warrington Exhibition Endowment

Chellgren Family Endowment

Sallie Robinson Wadsworth Endowment for Exhibitions

         

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones is part of the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial.  



The 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, now in its sixth iteration, activates over 100 projects at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio in October 2022. Each Biennial is structured around a unifying theme; for 2022 that theme, World Record, considers photography’s extensive record of life on earth while exploring humankind’s impact on the natural world. FotoFocus welcomes global artists, curators, critics, educators, and regional visitors to Cincinnati with exhibitions, talks, performances, screenings, and panel discussions during an expanded week of programming, September 29–October 8, 2022.


The 2022 theme, World Record, considers photography’s extensive record of life on earth while exploring humankind’s impact on the natural world

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