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Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

After releasing a heavily edited photo of Kate Middleton and her children for U.K. Mother’s Day, the Palace’s damage-control campaign presses on. Middleton, who is reportedly recovering from a “planned abdominal surgery,” has been the subject of rampant conspiracy theorizing for weeks, and the scarce photographic evidence showing her on the mend has also been called into question. Obviously, a poorly Photoshopped family portrait only fueled more wild speculation — as did a message purportedly from Middleton claiming responsibility for the bad editing, which appeared on the couple’s official Twitter account after multiple news agencies retracted the image due to its drastic alterations.

And now it seems a flurry of anonymous sources have been dispatched to make sure we understand this is one hundred percent Middleton’s fault. One told the New York Post that she feels “awful” and wanted to admit she had done the doctoring “immediately,” believing that honesty is the “best policy.” Over at the Mirror, a purported friend surmised the princess was probably “upset by the furore” over her “innocent family photograph.”

Meanwhile, Prince William appears to be going about business as usual while his wife allegedly spirals out over all the less-than-stellar feedback on her Photoshopping skills. On Monday, he joined Queen Camilla at a Westminster Abbey service and then zipped over to an event for his environmental program, the Earthshot Prize. There, he talked about the challenge of fighting climate change, telling a crowd of attendees, “It is not an easy task.” Neither is editing a photo of the royal family, apparently.

Kate Middleton Apparently ‘Upset’ About Photo-Editing Fail

Leica, the esteemed German camera brand, has announced the inauguration of its first immersive flagship store and gallery in the vibrant Meatpacking District of New York City, at 406 West 13th St.

This new establishment may be worthy of pilgrimage for photography enthusiasts, further enhancing Leica’s presence in Manhattan, while complementing its existing hubs across the city. It is a flagship store and gallery, underscoring the city’s renowned spirit of creativity, providing a haven for visual storytellers to discover inspiration and access tools that facilitate genuine visual expression.

Beyond retail, it aims to act as a hub for the art and culture of photography, though of course the new venue offers a captivating retail experience where customers can immerse themselves and acquire Leica’s comprehensive range of products, including cameras, lenses, and accessories.

Occupying two floors and spanning over 3,000 square feet along 13th Street, just steps away from the Highline and The Whitney Museum of American Art, the newly unveiled flagship store and gallery has been meticulously crafted to cater to a diverse clientele, ranging from seasoned professionals to avid photography enthusiasts.

The ground floor houses the Leica boutique, a haven displaying the complete lineup of cameras, lenses, sport optic products, the Leica watch collection, and the innovative Leica Cine 1 Laser TV. Additionally, visitors can immerse themselves in the captivating exhibitions at the Leica Gallery NYC, showcasing the works of established photographers alongside emerging talent.

Ascending to the top floor, guests discover a realm of inspiration. Here, a Leica Library awaits, inviting exploration through an array of meticulously curated photography books overseen by acclaimed photographer Todd Hido. Adjacent, the photo studio stands as a haven for creatives to experiment with Leica’s cutting-edge technology. 

Finally, the outdoor rooftop beckons visitors to engage in conversation, foster community, and spark collaboration amidst the picturesque cityscape—an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the rich tapestry of art and culture that photography embodies.

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of Leica’s Supervisory Board has this to say about the announcement:

“Leica has always been at the forefront of the photography industry, and our new Meatpacking flagship will further cement that position, this new space will open up the world of Leica to the public and give people more opportunities to engage with up-and-coming talent, fellow Leica fans, and renowned photographers.”

While Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Camera added:

“We are excited to expand our presence in Manhattan with the opening of our flagship store and gallery in the heart of the Meatpacking District. This new location, in one of the city’s most dynamic neighborhoods, provides photographers with a space to explore, connect, and find inspiration. We are thrilled to expose more people to the Leica experience, allowing them to discover the critical role photography plays in our society.”

This latest addition signifies the brand’s seventh Leica Store and third gallery in the United States.

The exclusive grand opening of Leica’s flagship store and gallery in New York City’s Meatpacking District (406 W 13th St.) is slated for Thursday, March 14, 2024. The event will include a ceremonial ribbon cutting, a reception, and an exhibition showcasing Leica’s newest offerings.

Moreover, the grand opening will extend into a weekend filled with immersive experiences accessible to the public. This includes a panel discussion featuring colleagues of the esteemed Leica photographer Elliott Erwitt on March 15th from 6 PM to 8 PM, a captivating talk and book signing with Ralph Gibson on March 16th from 6 PM to 8 PM, and opportunities for photowalks guided by Jason Roman and Gulnara Samoilova.

By Laura Sharman

Published: 11:18 EDT, 12 March 2024 | Updated: 11:47 EDT, 12 March 2024

Joel Sternfeld’s Domestic workers waiting for the bus, Atlanta, Georgia, April, (1983) might be the most mundane of nearly 200 photographs on view in “A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845.” Three Black women (domestic workers) stand in the street (waiting for the bus) of an otherwise empty neighborhood (Atlanta).

Amidst the pictures of war and poverty and protest and violence and German Shepherd’s and Martin Luther King being arrested, there’s no particular reason to be stopped in your tracks by this wholly banal scene. Unless you’ve been there, as I have.

The picture’s title refers to Atlanta, I’d place this as a particular neighborhood in the suburban community of Sandy Springs, where I once lived. If I haven’t been on this exact street, perhaps even in one of these homes, I’ve been within a half mile of it.

That was more like 2003, but whether 1983, 2003, or 2023, I would be willing to bet a dollar to a donut–to use a Southern phrase–the street looks exactly the same today. Lawns uniformly closely clipped. Pine straw covering the landscaping. Everything just so.

Order. Conformity. Genteel. Southern.

There’s no need for a “white’s only” sign, it’s implied.

The women employed dusting and polishing inside the brick mansions wait on the bus because they can’t afford to own a car. I can assure you no one living in any of the houses along the street would be caught dead riding the bus in Atlanta–or even know how to. It’s just not done.

They drive cars. Nice ones. Big SUVs and European sedans.

This is an image of white privilege.

The picture speaks to America’s structural racism and its racial wealth gap with a whisper, not a scream. Doing so reveals how it’s not just the racist sheriffs and brutes who poured milkshakes over the head of sit-in protesters at the Woolworth’s counter back in the day who are complicit in those systems. Doing so reminds us that the struggle for equality extends beyond the dramatic. Beyond the Edmond Pettis Bridge in Selma, or the bus boycotts in Montgomery.

It reminds us that we all play a part, often in ways we don’t even recognize.

Domestic workers waiting for the bus, Atlanta, Georgia, April can be seen at the Addison Gallery of American Art on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA as part of “A Long Arc” through July 31, 2024.

‘Dwelling in the Muck’

Organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, “A Long Arc” is the first major survey of Southern photography in the new millennium. Beginning with pictures from the dawn of photography in the Antebellum South of the 1840s through the Civil War, Great Depression, Civil Rights and through to the 2000s, the exhibition both reveals the South’s critical impact on the evolution of American photography and examines the region’s complex history.

The Massachusetts museum’s interest in Southern photography is historic.

Opening in 1931, the Addison acquired its first photographs in 1934–four prints by Margaret Bourke-White. This was decades before most museums in the United States began taking photography seriously as a fine art. Also in 1934, the Addison presented solo exhibitions of work by Bourke-White and Walker Evans (a Phillips Academy alumnus), both of whom have pictures featured in “A Long Arc.”

“The Addison’s commitment to photography has not wavered over the past 90 years and photographs now comprise over half of our 26,000-plus object strong collection,” Gordon Wilkins, Robert M. Walker Curator of American Art at the Addison Gallery of American Art, told Forbes.com. “It is impossible to tell the story of American photography without engaging with the history of photography in the American South, and that reality is manifested through our incredibly diverse and rich holdings of photographs of the South.”

The Addison Gallery lent over 20 works from its permanent collection to “A Long Arc,” and its presentation of the exhibition features dozens of additional works it owns.

“The irony of the High borrowing key, iconic works of Southern photography from the collection of a museum attached to the most quintessentially New England boarding school is not lost on us,” Wilkins added.

As distinct a region of the country as the South is–and New England for that matter– both–all regions–are now intractably bound to what has become the United States. What goes on in Mississippi maters in Massachusetts and vice versa.

“For those who have spent most of their lives in New England or, more broadly, in the ‘North,’ the South can oftentimes seem like a foreign country. As someone who has spent the bulk of their life and career in New England, I’ve often been struck by how persistently the South is ‘othered’ or treated as a foil, selectively employed to assert the relative virtue or progressiveness of the North in contradistinction to a backward, regressive South,” Wilkins said. “This exhibition lays bare the fallacy of this flawed logic and forces audiences to confront their preconceptions of the South—and, in many respects, reckon with the role that photography has played in the construction of their assumptions. As Sarah Kennel astutely points out in her (exhibition catalogue) essay, ‘part of the problem, it seems, is that we are still asking the question of whether the South is an exception to American democracy or the very crucible from which America’s identity was forged.’”

While organized chronologically, “A Long Arc” makes no attempt to impose a single, overarching narrative or thesis to 170-years of history across a vast and diverse chunk of the nation.

“It does not attempt to succinctly distill the messiness and infinite nuance of the Southern experience into an easily digestible parade of ‘greatest hits’ ended with a satisfying denouement,” Wilkins has previously written. “Instead, this exhibition encourages its viewers to dwell in the muck and the mire—to allow the remarkable photographs assembled for this once in a generation exhibition to bear witness to the region in all its complexity and contradictions.”

An effort is made, however, in exploring essential, recurrent themes characterizing the region across time. Imani Perry’s essay in the exhibition catalogue defines these as: “work, love, desire, despair, and always land.”

The African American Experience In The South

Domestic workers waiting for the bus, Atlanta, Georgia, April stands as one of dozens of examples of how “A Long Arc” forwards the African American experience in the South. From the earliest portraits on view and Black troops in the Civil War to Gillian Laub’s depiction of an interracial prom in 2011 and pairings from Dawoud Bey’s iconic 2012 “Birmingham Project,” the presentation makes clear that African Americans define the South to a degree unequalled anywhere else in the nation.

The roots for this, of course, lie with slavery. The long arm of racial discrimination extends throughout “A Long Arc” from start to finish. Nowhere is it portrayed more dramatically than in the section dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement.

Through pictures and figures both familiar–police dogs and firehoses in Birmingham, Rosa Parks being fingerprinted in Montgomery, Elizabeth Eckford sneered and jeered at by white female classmates entering Central High School in Little Rock in 1957–and previously unseen, the gravity and consequences of the struggle–lest they ever be forgotten, or erased–are made fresh again.

Notice the face of the woman in Bruce Davidson’s Arrest of a Demonstrator, Birmingham, (1963).

Gordon Parks’ Ondria Tanner and Her Grandmother Window-Shopping, Mobile, Alabama (1956) shows what segregation looks like in shocking color. A picture truly being worth a thousand words.

One, after another, after another.

The South’s long arc continues.

“A Long Arc” can be seen at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond October 5, 2024, through January 26. 2025, following its presentation at the Addison Gallery.