Robert Frank and the Americans (PHotoESPAÑA 2026)

From 29 May to 1 November, the Espacio Fundación Telefónica will present an exhibition that brings together the whole series of The Americans taken during Robert Frank’s journey across the United States in the 1950s, as part of the PHotoESPAÑA 2026 photography exhibition.

Robert Frank (Zurich, Switzerland, 1924 – Nova Scotia, Canada, 2019), a pioneer in the renewal of photography as an artistic language, succeeded in forever changing the way of seeing the world through a camera.  The exhibition is a unique opportunity to rediscover one of the most influential photographic projects of the 20th century, which has now become a legendary statement about the United States and photography itself.

This is the first time that the whole collection of The Americans series has been shown in Spain. It consists of 83 iconic images that also make up the most important book in the history of photography, which was published in 1958. The images, on loan from the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, caused a major impact in their day due to their honesty and ability to reveal what many would rather ignore.

This exhibition, curated by David Campany, a leading international expert on Robert Frank, also displays prints by Frank from the International Center of Photography in New York, and from private collections. This exhibition enables this emblematic project to be revisited.

Image Credit:

• Robert Frank, Tram. New Orleans, 1955 © Robert Frank Foundation, from The Americans