Wish You Were Here

Vacation Getaways from the Collection

California Museum of Photography

May 2 - August 29, 2009

From luxury hotels to makeshift campsites, where a traveler stayed on a vacation was often as important as what they saw or did. Commercially made photographs of one's accommodations were often inexpensively available to travelers and helped commemorate their stay. This exhibition features photographs of hotels, resorts, and campsites selected from UCR/CMP's permanent collection, including stereographic and panoramic examples as well as purely self-promotional materials provided by the vacation sites. These photographs highlight the pride of having gone off into the world, regardless of whether one's bed was on the dirt ground or in a penthouse suite.

UCR/CMP Permanent Collection