MFA Boston Acquires Robert Frank’s Photographs of 1940s Paris

A total of 38 photographs by Swiss-American photographer Robert Frank (1924-2019) was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), the institution announced in a statement last week.

The acquisition includes 34 photographs donated by the June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation, and four works that were purchased using donated funds from the former Citibank chief executive John Reed and his wife Cynthia.

The 38 images were made while Frank was in Paris in 1949. Some offer glimpses of street scenes such as children watching a blind street performer and a “circus” trolley car. Though Frank is primarily known for his highly influential 1958 book “

The Americans, which captured post-war American society, the recently acquired photographs were taken when he returned to Europe after living in New York for two years.

“We are thrilled to add these important photographs to the Museum’s collection which give insight into Frank’s career while contributing to our ability to tell the story of artistic transatlantic connections,” said Kristen Gresh, Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs at MFA Boston, in a statement. 

They are currently on view as part of the exhibition “Robert Frank: Mary’s Book” at the MFA Boston, through June 22, 2025. The show commemorates a personal scrapbook of photographs and text that Frank made for his first wife, Mary Lockspeiser.

Additionally, the MFA Boston acquired the photograph 4th of July, Jay, New York (1954), from “The Americans”, with support from the Horace W. Goldsmith Fund for Photography.

Another exhibition of Frank’s work, titled “Robert Frank’s Scrapbook Footage”, highlighting footage of Frank’s family, friends, and travels from 1970 through 2006 that was put together in a kind of moving-image scrapbook, is also on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until spring 2025.