Museum report·London
Tate Modern Opens First Major Global Survey of Pictorialism With 200+ Rare Prints
'Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography' opened at Tate Modern on 14 October 2026, the first major exhibition to explore pictorialism as a global movement, bringing together over 200 rare prints by more than 80 artists from Seoul to São Paulo.
Tate Modern has opened 'Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography', the first major exhibition to examine pictorialism as a genuinely global movement. On view from 14 October 2026 to 21 February 2027 in the Eyal Ofer Galleries, the show traces how photographers from the 1880s to the 1960s pioneered the darkroom and transformed photography into an art form.
The exhibition brings together over 200 rare prints by more than 80 artists, drawn from Seoul to Sydney, New York to Cape Town and Brazil to Singapore — many never before seen in the UK. Visitors encounter alternative printing processes, studio portraiture and early colour photography, alongside a functioning darkroom demonstrating the painstaking methods behind the works. Sections explore the international network of photographic societies, camera clubs and salons — from London's Royal Photographic Society to Shanghai's Guangshe, South Korea's The New Line Group and the Photographic Society of Singapore — that let pictorialist ideas circulate across continents rather than developing in isolation.
The final galleries reconsider pictorialism's relationship with modernism, featuring figures including Lionel Wendt, Shigeru Onishi, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand and Edward Weston, showing how pictorialist thinking continued to shape photographic experimentation well into the mid-twentieth century. The show draws on major holdings including the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, alongside rare books and journals from the organisations that sustained the movement.
Curated by Charmaine Toh, Tate Modern's Acting Head of Curatorial, and Genevieve Barton, Assistant Curator of International Art, the exhibition reflects the gallery's ongoing commitment to presenting more international histories of modern art. The show is supported by Yukiko Ito, with additional backing from the Light and Magic Exhibition Supporters Circle and Tate Americas Foundation. Tate Members get unlimited free entry, and visitors aged 16 to 25 can see all Tate exhibitions for £5 through Tate Collective.
