History
The Hall of Fame is the result of a project began in 1965 by the Photographic Art and Science Foundation. Members of the Professional Photographers of America originally created the foundation to promote photographic history by inducting historically significant photographers and inventors into a Photography Hall of Fame. However, no physical structure existed to commemorate Hall of Fame inductees or to display the Foundation's photographic and historical resources.
After twelve years of receiving unique prints and antique camera equipment from across the country, the foundation chose to exhibit the growing collection. The original Photography Hall of Fame opened in 1977 as part of the University Museums at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.
In 1983 the International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum moved from the Brooks Institute to the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City. Since first opening our doors on July 15, 1983 the Hall of Fame has traced the art, history and technology of image making. Today over 500 artists and several thousand photographs represent the Hall of Fame's permanent collection.
