Hans P. Kraus, Jr. Fine Photographs

Hans P. Kraus, Jr. Fine Photographs, founded in New York in 1984, has become a vital destination for those interested in the origins and evolution of photography as a fine art. Specializing in works from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the gallery is particularly renowned for its unparalleled representation of William Henry Fox Talbot, who in 1839 announced his invention of photography and forever altered the way humanity documents and interprets the world. Through carefully curated exhibitions and scholarly publications, the gallery has illuminated Talbot’s contributions while also presenting the achievements of other early pioneers such as Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Julia Margaret Cameron, John Beasley Greene, Hill & Adamson, Captain Linnaeus Tripe, Charles Nègre, and Joseph, vicomte Vigier.

The gallery’s collection demonstrates how photography rapidly developed from an experimental medium into a fully recognized art form. Beyond the early innovators, Hans P. Kraus, Jr. has also championed the work of Pictorialist photographers like Edward Steichen, Frederick H. Evans, and Alvin Langdon Coburn. These artists formed the first generation to consciously elevate photography into the realm of fine art at the turn of the twentieth century, blending technical precision with poetic vision.

Kraus’s exhibitions are not only elegant presentations but also acts of preservation and cultural memory, offering contemporary audiences a chance to engage directly with vintage prints that shaped the visual culture of their time. Each exhibition underscores the gallery’s mission to connect the present with the roots of photographic history.

As a member of the Art Dealers Association of America, the Private Art Dealers Association, and the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, the gallery participates in major international art fairs, including Paris Photo and The AIPAD Photography Show, further solidifying its reputation as a leading authority in the field of early photography.