ArtDaily PhotoGalleries

Nancy Ford Cones created photographs that earned her an international reputation and recognition in prestigious journals such as Camera Craft, as well as popular outlets including National Geographic magazine and Kodak advertisements. Despite the praise her works received during her lifetime, Cones’s imaginative and exquisitely crafted photographs were largely forgotten after her death. The Taft Museum of Art’s special exhibition, Craft and Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones (October 1, 2022-January 15, 2023) is the first major presentation of her work.

Kodak Autographic Camera. Loveland Museum Center.

The Prize Kodak, about 1912, kallitype platinum print, 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. Collection of J. Miles Wolf and Maura Wolf.

Going Home, about 1914, gelatin silver print, 13 7/8 x 10 15/16 in. Cincinnati Art Museum, Gift of Timothy A. Fischer, 1995.

Lighting the Candles, 1914, gelatin silver print, 11 x 7 1/2 in. Loveland Museum Center, 2000.008.007.

Christmas Carol, about 1930, gelatin silver print on tissue paper, hand-tinted, 8 x 9 1/4 in. Loveland Museum Center, 1995.102.007.

Christmas Eve, about 1915, gelatin silver print, 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Margaret Ford Cones, 1983 (1983.1091.7). Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

Portrait of a Girl Reading, about 1921, gelatin silver print, 7 1/8 x 5 1/8 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry.

Mrs. Lawrence Smith and Baby, 1932, gelatin silver print, 7 3/4 x 9 in. Private collection.

Sugarmaking, 1920, hand-colored print, 4 3/4 x 6 5/8 in. Collection of Randle and Cristina Egbert.

View of Cincinnati from Mt. Adams, about 1929, autochrome glass plate, 3 1/4 x 4 in. Loveland Museum Center, 2000.018.02.

Summer Fun, Children Playing with Hoses Behind Dale Park Fire Station, about 1926, kallitype tissue print, 7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in. Mariemont Preservation Foundation, 1987.12.002.

The Old Witch, about 1920, multiple green gum bichromate print, 6 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry.

Threading the Needle or Helping Grandmother Sew, 1905 (printed 1907), gelatin silver print, 9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. Dayton Art Institute, Gift of Miss Jane Reece, 1952.19.495.

A Holland Breakfast or Do You Want a Bite?, 1907 (negative 1902), gelatin silver print, 9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. Dayton Art Institute, Gift of Miss Jane Reece, 1952.19.494.

Mama’s Kodak, about 1912, gelatin silver print, 6 x 4 3/8 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry.

Picnic Fun on the Little Miami River, about 1912, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Margaret Ford Cones, 1983 (1983.1091.20). Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

John Hoffman, about 1928, kallitype tissue print, 10 7/8 x 7 3/4 in. Private collection.

The Abode of the Gnomes, about 1921, kallitype tissue print, 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 in. Collection of W. Roger and Patricia K. Fry.

Spirit of the Wood, 1920, multiple green gum bichromate print, 9 x 6 3/4 in. Loveland Museum Center, 1998.023.019.