Exploring America’s Past: Arthur Nager’s 1970s photography comes to MoCA CT

Arthur Nager: America in the 70s Documenting A Decade Through Photography
MoCA CT • 19 Newtown Turnpike, Westport, CT 06880
August 21, 2025 • 6 pm – 7 pm

Arthur Nager: America in the 70s Documenting A Decade Through Photography

A conversation with photographer Arthur Nager at MoCA CT in Westport Connecticut in August 2025 — Hostess With Slot Machines, Las Vegas, Arthur Nager, 1976

Throughout a 50-year career as an artist and photo educator, Arthur Nager has focused on documenting the social landscape—the people, structures, and places that reflect the character of where and how we live. His goal has been to capture the details of our evolving culture to convey what is timeless and constant in our lives.

This presentation includes a survey of his black-and-white photographs from the 1970s, made during trips across the country, capturing aspects of the unique cultural landscape and the evolving photographic approach to the medium of the time.

Arthur Nager’s work incorporates chance, circumstance, and premonition with the element of irony. Relying on intuition, he enables the viewer to experience a moment in time—to look past the initial painterly impact of color, scale, and form to extract meaning that is sometimes implied or disguised.

Nager’s work is part of educational and museum collections including The International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House; the South Street Seaport Museum; the Museum of Art, Santa Cruz; and the Kennebunk Museum in Maine. His recent 2025 exhibit at the Mattatuck Museum featured work documenting the towns of the Naugatuck Valley from 1988 to 2024.

Arthur Nager

Arthur Nager earned his MFA in Photography from Visual Studies Workshop and a BA in History and Psychology from the University of Rochester. Early in his career, he worked at the George Eastman House and studied under Nathan Lyons and Syl Labrot. He taught at the Center of the Eye and Anderson Ranch Arts Center before becoming Director of the Photography Program at the University of Bridgeport, where he expanded the curriculum and organized a photography lecture series featuring renowned artists such as Arnold Newman and Mary Ellen Mark.

Nager has exhibited widely, including at the Mattatuck Museum, Trinity College, the Ilon Gallery, and the Fahey/Bodell Umbrella Arts Gallery. His work, which captures the evolving social landscape and architectural transformations, is in the collections of institutions such as the George Eastman House and the South Street Seaport Museum. A recipient of numerous grants, including a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, he continues to create, exhibit, and teach in Connecticut and New York City.

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Exploring America’s Past: Arthur Nager’s 1970s photography comes to MoCA CT