Pictured: Melonie Bennett (American, b. 1969). Suzie, Bahama Beach Club, Portland, Maine. 1996. Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 in. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, 25.2001.1. Courtesy of the artist.

Photographs are, as the theorist Roland Barthes wrote, “certificates of presence,” verification that a moment, a person or a place existed. From the adoration of a loved one or the wonder felt before nature to the hardship of labor or the devastation of war, photographs can be imprinted with the totality of human experiences. On view October 18– April 4, 2027 at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design, Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder embraces that totality, examining the deeply humanistic history of photography through seven thematic sections. More at SarasotaArtMuseum.org. 

Pictured: Melonie Bennett (American, b. 1969). Suzie, Bahama Beach Club, Portland, Maine. 1996. Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 in. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, 25.2001.1. Courtesy of the artist.