The 10 Best Photography Galleries In The World

In the digital era, photography has certainly become a staple of everyday life. We see all kinds of imagery 24/7! Many of us have lost the ability to stop and contemplate images in detail. Because of this, photography galleries represent a perfect getaway for anyone who would like to enjoy photography the “old-fashioned” way – framed and hung.

The following list consists of 10 really remarkable photo galleries around the world:

1. Hamiltons Gallery

Hamiltons gallery was founded in London in 1977. It consists of a former rackets court and music room of the Courtauld family. Nowadays, this gallery specializes in works by modern masters of photography.

Hamiltons has exhibited the artworks of Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and Robert Mapplethorpe. It also represented the work of Sir Don McCullin, who is one of the most famous most photojournalists in the world.

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2. Fraenkel Gallery

Fraenkel Gallery was established in 1979 in San Francisco. It’s a very diverse gallery that represents the historical photographers such as Diane Arbus, Robert Adams, Lee Friedlander, and Hiroshi Sugimoto. It also has a collection of NASA’s lunar photographs.

Fraenkel Gallery is rather active and it maintains long-established relationships with various museums and private collectors around the world.

3. Three Shadows Photography Art Center

This innovative art center was founded in 2007 in Beijing, by Chinese photographer RongRong and his Japanese counterpart Inri. Three Shadows Photography Art Center represents one of a kind growing platform for both photography and video.

This center is located in a Caochangdi complex and it features contemporary Chinese and Japanese photographers along with many American and European masters. The center also has an extensive library of books on photography and video.

4. Yossi Milo Gallery

Yossi Milo gallery was established in 2000 in New York City. It’s a contemporary art gallery which focuses on photo and video-based pieces. It’s one of the most eclectic galleries in New York City since it features international mixes of diverse contemporary photographers whose artworks range from the figurative to the abstract.

Yossi Milo gallery represents photographers such as Sze Tsung Leong, Youssef Nabil, and Pieter Hugo.

5. TORCH Gallery

TORCH Gallery was founded in Amsterdam in 1984. In the beginning, the gallery had the role of a strong platform for emerging Dutch artists who have since achieved recognition across the world.

Nowadays, TORCH welcomes both photography and contemporary art. It exhibits the work of avant-garde photographers such as Anton Corbijn, Inez van Lamsweerde, Edward Burtynsky, and Teun Hocks.

6. Galleria Carla Sozzani

This photography gallery was established in 1990 in Milan. It represents one of the most eminent art venues in Italy. It hosts not only a large number of quality exhibitions (dedicated to Berenice Abbott, William Klein, Annie Leibovitz and so on) but also the annual World Press Photo show.

Galleria Carla Sozzani also features architecture, design, and books on art, photography, and fashion. Their publisher is Carla Sozzani Editore company.

7. Magnum Gallery

Magnum Gallery is a cult gallery in Paris, founded by photographers (Robert Capa, David Chim Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, and William Vandivert) for photographers in 1947. It still represents one of the world’s most important photographic associations and archives. Their library has over one million photographs in print and about half a million photographs available online. Magnum Photos is a giant association with 4 editorial offices in New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo.

For anyone who’s interested in the most influential photographs of the last fifty years, this is the perfect gallery! The archive includes photographs depicting family life, drugs, religion, war, poverty, government, and even celebrities.

8. CAMERA WORK Gallery

This gallery was founded in 1997 in Berlin. It has become one of the leading photography galleries. It features the art of world-famous photographers such as Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and Man Ray along with the works of young contemporary artists who are still relatively unknown.

CAMERA WORK has opened the CWC GALLERY in Berlin at the beginning of 2012, which is focusing solely on contemporary photography exhibitions. These two galleries collaborate with museums, galleries, and other art institutions worldwide.

9. Jackson Fine Art

This gallery was founded in 1990 in Atlanta, USA and it specializes in 20th century and contemporary photography. It has an impressive collection of photographic masterpieces that have been on loan to many important institutions, such as The Met Museum, The LACMA, The Art Institute Chicago and so on.

Their exhibitions feature famous names such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Gordon Parks, Michael Kenna, and Masao Yamamoto.

10. Benrubi Gallery

Benrubi is another great gallery from New York City, founded in 1987 by the late Bonni Benrubi. This gallery is famous for its outstanding curatorial choices – it has been presenting the works of particularly interesting photographers such as Delphine Burtin, Simon Norfolk and Massimo Vitali.

Benrubi Gallery maintains an active collaboration with many museums. You can find its collections in MoMA, SFMoMA, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

If you’re a photographer who doesn't visit galleries often, you should give it a try! Observing great photographs and learning about them can affect your own creativity in a stimulating way.

To learn more about photography galleries, check out the links below.