‘EXCURSION THROUGH EGYPT’ ON VIEW AT SMITH COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART

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NORTHAMPTON, MASS. — The Smith College Museum of Art presents the exhibition, “Abandoned Beauty: A Nineteenth Century Photographic Excursion through Egypt,” on view through July 8.

“Abandoned Beauty” features 25 photographs of various scenes in Egypt, including the Sphinx and Pyramids at Giza, views of the Nile River, and the streets and local life of Cairo.

The photographs were created to form “travel albums” that were sold both in Egypt and throughout Europe during the late Nineteenth Century — mostly to American and European tourists. These provided travelers with a token of their journeys and others with the visual experience — novel for this time period — of world travel without leaving home.

The photographers represented vary from celebrated practitioners such as Antonio Beato and Lékégian to lesser-known commercial photographers such as the Zangaki brothers. This exhibition was organized by Cunningham Center intern Nina Wilkinson (Class of 2007).

The museum is on Elm Street at Bedford Terrace. For information, 413-585-2760 or www.smith.edu/artmuseum.