W. Eugene Smith and New York: The Loft Era

Mar. 17—Jun. 7, 2026

• Mar. 17—Jun. 7, 2026
• Closed Mondays (except when May 4), May 7.
• Admission：Adults ￥700(560)／College Students ￥560(440)／High School Students, Over 65 ￥350(280) *Prices in parenthesis apply to groups of 20 or more. (Reservation is required.) *Free for junior high school students or younger, and holders of Japan’s disability identification cards (shogaisha techo) together with two caregiver. *Those over 65 years old receive free admission on the third Wednesday of every month by presenting proof of age at the ticket counter.

The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum is pleased to present a solo exhibition of W. Eugene Smith (1918–1978), one of the most renowned American documentary photographers of the 20th century.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, Smith developed an early passion for photography, influenced by his mother. After working for the local newspaper Wichita Eagle, he dedicated himself fully to photojournalism in the 1940s. During World War II, he covered fierce battlegrounds such as Okinawa and Saipan as a correspondent for Life magazine. Smith remained affiliated with Life for several years after the war and produced many series that closely documented people’s lives, including Country Doctor, A Man of Mercy, and Minamata. These works cemented his position as a pioneer of the photo essay, a genre that weaves together multiple images and brief text to tell a compelling story.

After leaving Life in 1954, Smith moved to an apartment in Manhattan known as the Loft. The space became a hub for a wide range of artists, from musicians such as Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis to the Surrealist Salvador Dalí, Abstract Expressionist painters, and photographers including Robert Frank and Diane Arbus. Smith photographed the frequent jam sessions and vibrant interactions that unfolded there. Smith’s work from this period reaches beyond the conventions of journalism and is strongly marked by a sustained search for photography’s artistic potential. This exhibition focuses on the Loft era and the years before and after, exploring Smith’s work not only as a photojournalist but also as an artist, and offering opportunities to reexamine his work from fresh perspectives.

We hope this exhibition allows visitors to discover new aspects of Smith’s work and experience the fusion of reportage and art that he so passionately pursued.

Exhibition Structur
Intoroduction
Chapter 1: The Great City
Chapter 2: The Loft Era
Chapter 3: Let Truth Be the Prejudice
Chapter 4: Minamata


W. Eugene Smith, Untitled, from the series 'As from My Window I Sometimes Glance...,' c.1957-59 Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum ©2026 The Heirs of W. Eugene Smith


W. Eugene Smith, Untitled, from the series 'As from My Window I Sometimes Glance...,' c.1957-59 Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum ©2026 The Heirs of W. Eugene Smith


W. Eugene Smith, Self-portrait, c.1957 Courtesy of Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona: W. Eugene Smith Archive ©1957, 2026 The Heirs of W. Eugene Smith