Arthur Griffin Photo Archive - Griffin Museum of Photography Skip to primary navigation Skip to footer Arthur Griffin Arthur Griffin was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on September 12, 1903. Originally trained as an illustrator, he picked up his first camera — a second-hand folding Brownie — in 1929, sparking a passion for photography that would last a lifetime. By the mid-1930’s, Arthur Griffin had become the exclusive photographer for the newly established Boston Globe Rotogravure Magazine and the New England photojournalist for Life and Time magazines. Griffin became a pioneer in the use of color film, providing the first color photographs to appear in the Saturday Evening Post, and captured the first color photograph of the Red Sox legend Ted Williams. In 1992, he founded the Griffin Museum of Photography to support emerging and established photographers and to promote the art of photography in New England. A prolific documentarian of Boston, Griffin photographed the city’s everyday life in all its forms: street scenes, landscapes, architecture, historic figures, athletes, and sporting events. The museum’s collection of his work not only highlights the breadth of his craft but also offers a visual record of Boston and the greater New England region across the mid‑20th century. Arthur Griffin’s extensive collection is available to explore online through the museum’s database and on Digital Commonwealth Arthur’s images are available for licensing. For requests and inquiries about cost of rights, please reach out to our Archivist at [email protected] Boston 1930s-50s: Maine: Sports: Sports Legends: Ted Williams Joe Louis Harry Agganis John Borican Past Exhibitions As part of our Illuminating the Archive series, we display Griffin’s works online and in-person in our Founder’s Gallery in conjunction with our broader exhibitions. Online: Illuminating the Archive of Arthur Griffin: Photographs 1935-1955 , looks at New England’s cultural heritage, traditions, and aesthetic through the lens of Griffin’s lesser-known work. This six-part exhibition explores how photography enhances our relationship with and understanding of the past. Each exhibit features historical, sociological, and creative interpretations of photographs from the museum’s collection. Founder’s Gallery: Boston’s Expanding Horizons In our exhibition Manifest Destiny , contemporary photographers revisit the 19th century ideology of Manifest Destiny, examining its enduring legacy through contemporary depictions of land and the people who inhabit it. In conjunction with this, we present a selection of works by Arthur Griffin that capture a city in rapid transformation: expanding roads, rising number of automobiles, street advertisements, steel structures piercing the skyline, and new constructions merging into the city’s historic architecture. Taken during a period when progress was defined by industrial growth, these images showcase urban development and growing consumerism in mid-20th century Boston. In these images of downtown Boston, Griffin focuses on the dense cluster of rising steel structures that obscure the city’s skyline. The contrast between construction sites, the new buildings and the surrounding historic architecture creates a striking tension — between Boston’s past and its ongoing drive towards growth and change. Winter Solstice 2025 In conjunction with our Winter Solstice exhibition, we presented a selection of Arthur Griffin’s photographs of Boston in winter. This selection highlights Boston’s architecture and memorials cloaked in snow during the 1930s- 1950s, alongside scenes of Boston residents embracing the season. Footer Griffin Museum of Photography 67 Shore Road, Winchester, Ma 01890 781-729-1158 email us Map Purchase Museum Admission Hours: Tues-Sun Noon-4pm Visit Hours Admission Directions Handicap Accessability FAQs Exhibitions Exhibitions | Current, Upcoming, Past Calls for Entry State of Our Union 2026 Scholarships & Residencies Richards Family Prize John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship Carolyn Harder Scholarship The Cummings Foundation Artist Residency Griffin State of Mind Education & Events Events In Person Virtual Receptions Photobook Focus Focus Awards Education Classes Photography Atelier Professional Development Series NEPR (New England Portfolio Reviews) Education Policies Travel Members Become a Member My Account Griffin Salon Member Portfolio Reviews Member’s Only Events Give Give Now Griffin Futures Fund John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship Leave a Legacy About Our Mission & Museum Meet Our Staff Griffin Museum Board of Directors Arthur Griffin Photo Archive Get in Touch Rent the Griffin Shop Online Store Admission Membership Here’s how to create your Griffin Member Profile Welcome we are excited to have you and your creativity seen by so many. 1: Log into your membership account 2: To  create a profile you must be logged in and be a supporter or above otherwise you will not see the add a profile button. 3: You can find the Griffin Salon on the Members Drop down in our Main Navigation on the home page or by starting here – 4: A button that says Create Your Member Profile appears 5: If you are logged in and have already created a profile you also won’t see the add a profile button ( the button launches the form ) but you will see an edit and delete icon next to your name and only yours. 6. Fill in your Artist Statement, Bio and upload up to 10 images. NOTE Sharing your contact information is in your hands. You can select to make your phone and email public or keep it private. Once you have updated your information, it sends a ping to museum staff to approve the images and text, and your page will then be listed on the public website. The museum reserves the right to refuse content that is offensive, harmful, or divisive. Images that include graphic, explicit, or politically divisive content will not be approved. Please ensure all submitted images and text are appropriate for a public audience. Member Directory Form for adding and editing members to the member directory Amy Rindskopf's Terra Novus At the market, I pick each one up, pulled in by the shapes as they sit together, waiting. I feel its heft in my hand, enjoy the textures of the skin or peel, and begin to look closer and closer. The patterns on each individual surface marks them as distinct. I push further still, discovering territory unseen by the casual observer, a new land. I am like a satellite orbiting a distant planet, taking the first-ever images of this newly envisioned place. This project started as an homage to Edward Weston’s Pepper No. 30 (I am, ironically, allergic to peppers). As I looked for my subject matter at the market, I found that I wasn’t drawn to just one single fruit or vegetable. There were so many choices, appealing to both hand and eye. I decided to print in black and white to help make the images visually more about the shapes, and not about guessing which fruit is smoothest, which vegetable is greenest. Artistic Purpose/Intent Artistic Purpose/Intent Tricia Gahagan Photography has been paramount in my personal path of healing from disease and connecting with consciousness. The intention of my work is to overcome the limits of the mind and engage the spirit. Like a Zen koan, my images are paradoxes hidden in plain sight. They are intended to be sat with meditatively, eventually revealing greater truths about the world and about one’s self. John Chervinsky’s photography is a testament to pensive work without simple answers; it connects by encouraging discovery and altering perspectives. I see this scholarship as a potential to continue his legacy and evolve the boundaries of how photography can explore the human condition. Growing my artistic skill and voice as an emerging photographer is critical, I see this as a rare opportunity to strengthen my foundation and transition towards an established and influential future. I am thirsty to engage viewers and provide a transformative experience through my work. I have been honing my current project and building a plan for its complete execution. The incredible Griffin community of mentors and the generous funds would be instrumental for its development. I deeply recognize the hallmark moment this could be for the introduction of the work. Thank you for providing this incredible opportunity for budding visions and artists that know they have something greater to share with the world. Fran Forman RSVP