Drawn from recent gifts of nearly 200 photographs donated by collector Joseph Baio, Nothing Gold Can Stay explores the complex territory of childhood and adolescence. Baio, who has formed a spectacular collection of more than 5,000 photographs around the themes of childhood, adolescence, and family, was initially drawn to these subjects when he became a father.
The exhibition includes nearly 20 photographs that explore themes related to childhood and adolescence by artists working from the 19th century to the present. They include Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, Dawoud Bey, Issei Suda, Emmet Gowin, and others.
The title Nothing Gold Can Stay takes its inspiration from a Robert Frost poem about the fragility and transience of youth. The exhibition was curated by Dr. Sarah Kennel, VMFA’s Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper.
TOP OF PAGE Livia, 1948 (printed 1993), Frederick Sommer (American, born Italy, 1905–1999), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Joseph Baio, 2023.1700