Parrish Art Museum

The Parrish Art Museum is a cultural landmark dedicated to exploring the relationship between artists, place, and creative process, with a particular focus on the East End of Long Island and its enduring influence on the global art world. Rooted in a region long associated with artistic innovation, the museum presents exhibitions and programs that connect local histories to contemporary and socially engaged perspectives. Set within a striking architectural landscape, the Parrish offers visitors an experience shaped equally by art, design, and the surrounding natural environment.

Photography plays an increasingly important role within the Parrish Art Museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection, reflecting the medium’s capacity to capture the changing character of the East End and its communities. Photographic works in the collection document landscapes, social life, and artistic experimentation, offering visual insight into how artists have responded to this unique setting over time. Contemporary photography is regularly featured alongside painting, sculpture, and installation, reinforcing photography’s position as a central and evolving artistic practice rather than a purely documentary tool.

The museum’s curatorial approach places strong emphasis on the creative process, making photography a natural fit within its programming. Exhibitions often explore how photographers engage with light, space, and narrative, drawing connections between historical traditions and current practices. Educational programs, artist talks, and public conversations further support this focus, encouraging visitors to consider how photographic images shape perception and memory within both local and global contexts.

Housed since 2012 in a purpose-built structure designed by Herzog & de Meuron in Water Mill, the Parrish Art Museum provides expansive galleries well suited to the display of large-scale photographic works and installations. This contemporary setting allows the museum to present photography with clarity and ambition, while remaining grounded in the legacy established by its founder, Samuel Longstreth Parrish. Through its thoughtful integration of photography into exhibitions and collections, the Parrish continues to honor its regional roots while engaging with the wider currents of contemporary art.