MoMA press release announcing The Family of Man opening, January 1955
Citation
Museum of Modern Art. [Press release announcing the opening of The Family of Man exhibition, January 1955.] New York: The Museum of Modern Art, January 1955. [Exact date, page count, and content NOT confirmed this round.]
Tier justification
Tier 1: an institutional MoMA press release announcing the opening of Exhibition #569 (The Family of Man, January 24, 1955) is a primary archival document of the same class as the confirmed June 21, 1955 press release (src-moma-1955-press-release-book). The Tier 1 status applies to the underlying institution’s press archive. This entry is verified: false because no opening-announcement press release was successfully fetched this session. The Tier 1 status applies to the underlying institution and the class of document; the URL field is blank because no valid URL was confirmed.
Relevance
MoMA’s press office routinely issued opening-announcement press releases for exhibitions, typically timed for release in the week before the opening. For Exhibition #569 (opening January 24, 1955), such a release would have contained: a description of the exhibition’s scope and curatorial concept; attribution to Steichen; installation-design credit to Paul Rudolph; biographical context for Steichen; and logistical details (dates, hours, admission). It would be distinct from the June 21, 1955 press release announcing the publication of the catalog books (src-moma-1955-press-release-book), which was timed to the domestic tour opening in Minneapolis. An opening press release would likely include quotations from Steichen about the exhibition’s purpose — making it a primary self-statement source (analogous in tier to the src-steichen-1958-wisconsin-magazine entry).
Key excerpts / pages
- No text from any MoMA Family of Man opening press release was obtained this session.
- URL attempted 2026-05-08 (returned 404):
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0057_56.pdf - URL attempted 2026-05-08 (returned 404):
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0058_56.pdf - URL attempted 2026-05-08 (returned 404):
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0060_56.pdf - URL attempted 2026-05-08 (returned 404):
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0064_56.pdf - URL attempted 2026-05-08 (returned 404):
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0068_56.pdf - URL pattern confirmed working for one known press release:
https://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/1958/releases/MOMA_1955_0073_56.pdf(returns the June 21, 1955 book-publication press release,src-moma-1955-press-release-book). The opening-announcement press release, if accessible, would carry a lower document number in the same sequence. - The MoMA press archives index page (
https://www.moma.org/research/archives/press-release-index) returned HTTP 403 this session; the index was not readable. - MoMA research archives page (
https://www.moma.org/research/archives) also returned 403 this session.
Notes
- Flagged
verified: false. URL field left blank — no valid URL for the opening press release was confirmed. - This entry is a placeholder to document the existence of this gap in the current bibliography. The June 21, 1955 press release (
src-moma-1955-press-release-book) is the only MoMA press release currently confirmed for this project. - The MoMA Exhibition History record for Exhibition #569 (
src-moma-exh-2429) lists the exhibition dates (January 24 – May 8, 1955) and may link to related press materials via the MoMA archives, but that page returned 403 this session. - The Master Checklist (
src-moma-exh-0569-master-checklist) is another primary document from the same institutional context, but it is not a press release. - To verify: contact MoMA research archives directly (archives@moma.org) or submit an in-person research appointment request. The MoMA Archives finding aid for Press Releases (1929–2010) is the standard access route. The opening PR may also be reprinted in or cited by contemporary journalism (NYT, Herald Tribune) from January 24–26, 1955.
- A future pass should: attempt the MoMA archives index with authenticated access; try the Wayback Machine snapshot of the MoMA press archive (blocked this session from web.archive.org); or contact MoMA archivist for the full press packet for Exhibition #569.