Exhibition Exploring the Relationship Between Photography and Resource Extraction to Open at the Car
Exhibition Exploring the Relationship Between Photography and Resource Extraction
to Open at the Carter in February 2027
Beneath the Surface features approximately 150 photographs
spanning nearly two centuries of American industry
Fort Worth, TX, June 3, 2026—The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) will present Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography in 2027. Organized by the National Gallery of Art in collaboration with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Carter, Beneath the Surface is the first exhibition to exclusively examine the relationship between resource extraction and American photography throughout the medium’s history. The exhibition traces how photographers have approached the challenge of capturing the processes and impacts of extracting minerals, coal, and fossil fuels. Beneath the Surface will be on view at the Carter February 14 through May 9, 2027.
“Beneath the Surface continues the Carter’s commitment to exploring the many ways American artists have shaped our understanding of the world around us,” said Scott Wilcox, Interim Director of the Carter. “This exhibition highlights the creativity and innovation of photographers across nearly two centuries while offering new perspectives on industries that have profoundly altered American life. We are grateful to the National Gallery of Art for spearheading this exhibition and to the many artists and lenders whose work allows us to share these compelling images with our audiences.”
Featuring approximately 150 photographs by a range of artists—including Richard Avedon, Mitch Epstein, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Carleton Watkins, and Will Wilson, and more—Beneath the Surface reveals how generations of photographers have utilized evolving technologies and distinctive visual strategies to document the industries that power and shape modern life. Drawn in part from the Carter’s photography collection, the works on view range from early images made during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s to photographs of industrial expansion in the 20th century and large-scale contemporary works. Together, they reveal how photographers have documented and interpreted extraction over time, offering insight into its impact on the environment, communities, and the broader American experience.
“Beneath the Surface brings together an extraordinary range of photographs that reflect both the history of the medium and its ongoing relevance today,” said Charles Wylie, Curator of Photographs at the Carter. “A unique aspect of the exhibition is the presence of numerous works drawn from the Carter’s collection, allowing our audiences to appreciate these multilayered views of American mining industries in new and intriguing contexts.”
Beneath the Surface centers on the challenges these artists faced in capturing the colossal scale of extraction and its far-reaching impacts on communities and the environment. It also reveals the inventive strategies they employed to depict this subject. The works on view reflect the full breadth of the medium, spanning landscapes, portraits of workers and panoramas of affected communities, photobooks, aerial imagery, analog and digital collage, camera-less photography, historical processes, narrative and performance work, and pictures that otherwise harness photography to communicate the scope of these industries.
Beneath the Surface is organized by the National Gallery of Art in collaboration with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. This exhibition is curated by Diane Waggoner, Curator of Photographs, National Gallery of Art, and Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum.
The Carter’s presentation of this exhibition is supported in part by the Alice L. Walton Foundation Temporary Exhibitions Endowment.
Images (left to right): Cara Romero (b. 1977), Oil Boom, 2015, inkjet print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Funds from Renée Harbers Liddell, 2024.45.2, © Cara Romero. All rights reserved; Edward Weston (1886–1958), Gulf Oil–Pt. Arthur, 1941, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1980.23.1, © 1981 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents; Richard Avedon (1923–2004), Tom Stroud, oil field worker, Velma, Oklahoma, 6/12/80, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1985.28.56, © The Richard Avedon Foundation
About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is a dynamic cultural resource that provides unique access and insight into the history and future of American creativity through its expansive exhibitions and programming. The Carter’s preeminent collection includes masterworks by legendary American artists such as Ruth Asawa, Alexander Calder, Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Robert Duncanson, Thomas Eakins, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and John Singer Sargent, as well as one of the country’s foremost repositories of American photography. In addition to its innovative exhibition program and engagement with artists working today, the Museum’s premier primary research collection and leading conservation program make it a must-see destination for art lovers and scholars of all ages nationwide. Admission is always free. To learn more about the Carter, visit cartermuseum.org.
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