Best Photo Picks December 2025

What Makes It Great? / Featured / December 3, 2025

By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy

‘Tis the season! What better time to fan your inner flame? Take a break from the turbulence of uncertainty and demise, come in from the cold and share the warmth of creative photography. The exhibits and events featured in our December Best Photo Picks for Boston and New England are arranged geographically for your planning convenience. And as always, we invite you check back during the month for updates and additions.

BOSTON PROPER

“Untitled (71 1879B)” by Yasuhiro Ishimoto (Japanese, born in United States, 1921–2012), about 1967 Photograph, gelatin silver print, printed 1980s. Gift of David W. Williams and Eric Ceputis, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – “Faces in the Crowd: Street Photography” presents a five-decade global slice of street photography that brings us up to the present. This gem-like show features the images of twenty-five photographers drawn from the museum’s collection. Their viewpoints illuminate individual and collective responses to socio-political changes, but also the ways in which people’s attitudes and gestures remain familiar over time. On view in the Herb Ritts Gallery through July 26th, 2026.

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/faces-in-the-crowd-street-photography-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/

For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/faces-in-the-crowd-street-photography

“Spider web, Sofia” 2023, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Leica Gallery Boston – Landlocked between Romania and Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has seen one third of its population emigrate in recent years, especially its younger citizens. Photographer Maria Gutu’s series Homeland, is “a poetic quest for roots, for a home whose meaning always changes.” Her solo show will be on view through January 4th, 2026.

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/maria-gutu-homeland-photographs-at-leica-gallery-boston/

For more information about the exhibit and associated programming, go to: https://www.instagram.com/leicagalleryboston/

EVENTS OF NOTE AT LEICA:

Photo (detail) by Robin Fader, courtesy of the artist and SDN.

TONIGHT, December 3rd from 6:00 – 8:00pm! Moderator Rachel Davidson, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Massachusetts, hosts this timely discussion with Panelists:

Crista Dix, Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography
Catherine Lecomte Lecce, Executive Director, Photographic Resource Center
Bell Pitkin, Curator, Leica Gallery Boston
Glenn Ruga, Founder & Director, Social Documentary Network

Free and open to the public, but registration is required at: https://www.socialdocumentary.net/cms/freedom-of-expression

Photograph from the panAFRICAproject by Lou Jones, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Saturday, December 6th from Noon – 2:00pm – Master photographer (and storyteller!) Lou Jones will speak about his career broadly and highlight his recent work from the panAFRICAproject, a unique, contemporary visual portrait of modern Africa. An enlightening look at the industrious, progressive and caring communities in Africa’s individual countries, Jones’ work contradicts prevalent notions of conflict, pestilence and poverty. Copies of panAFRICAproject volumes I and II will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Free and open to the public, to register, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artist-talk-with-lou-jones-tickets-1975133825441?aff=oddtdtcreator

“Zahra, Nadia” from the series The First Ones in Line by Yorgos Efthymiadis, courtesy of the artist and ICA Boston.

Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston – We’ve all seen pictures of striking laborers, but what are they like individually? What about them gives them the courage to challenge authority, bring people together, and lead their coworkers out on strike? With characteristic empathy, Yorgos Efthymiadis explores the unseen side of workers, in and around their homes and often with their families. As one of four winners of the 2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize, Efthymiadis is exhibiting photographs from this project, The First Ones in Line, along with his previous series, The Lighthouse Keepers. Established to “nurture and recognize exceptional Boston-area artists,” the Foster Prize celebrates recipients with this annual ICA/Boston exhibition, on view through January 19th, 2026.

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/photography-shows-yorgos-efthymiadis-the-first-ones-in-line-and-the-lighthouse-keepers-rania-matar-portraits-of-samira-at-ica-boston/

For more information, go to: https://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/2025-james-and-audrey-foster-prize/

“Strays 99” 2010, by Arne Svenson, courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.

Robert Kelin Gallery – Arne Svenson: Sock Monkeys & Strays brings a needed dose of levity to the season. A celebration of endearing stray kittens and beloved sock monkey dolls will warm both heart and soul, on view from December 6th, 2025 – January 31st, 2026.

For more information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/exhibitions/87-arne-svenson-sock-monkeys-strays/works/

CAMBRIDGE

Bridge Gallery, Cambridge – Photographer Annette Bonnier explores the unsettling perception in India of elephants as both a work animal and spiritual symbol in her solo exhibit, Of Elephants and Men: India’s Unique Relationship. On view from November 22nd – December 27th, 2025, there will be an Opening Reception with the artist on Saturday, November 22nd from 5:00 – 8:00pm. She will be signing copies of her book “India’s Elephants” at the opening.

For more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/shows

“Parallel Lives II” 2016 © TRES [ilana boltvinik + rodrigo viñas], courtesy of the artists and Peabody Museum of Archeology & Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge – Castaway: The Afterlife of Plastic presents work by Mexican artists Ilana Boltvinik and Rodrigo Viñas, who together form the collective TRES, recipients of the Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography. The bilingual photographic exhibition documents their 2016 journey along the beaches of Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania, where they collected and photographed varied debris that had washed up from places as far away as China. Their images, many presented in macro scale, evoke archaeology, marine biology, and cartography, inviting viewers to ponder the natural landscapes and the stark, unnatural objects scattered across them. Exhibit curator Ilisa Barbash emphasizes that “rather than producing a simple diatribe about the environment, TRES plays with the sizes, shapes, and colors of familiar castaway items, inviting us to see their beauty and attempt to make sense of them.” On view through April 6th, 2026.

For more information, go to: https://peabody.harvard.edu/castaway-afterlife-plastic

THE BURBS

From the series Scenes of Self: Redressing Patriarchy by C. Rose Smith courtesy of the artist, Maine Media and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

From the series Of 30 Siblings by Nzingah Oyo, courtesy of the artist, Maine Media and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

From the series The Weight of the Earth by Debmalya Choudhuri, courtesy of the artist, Maine Media and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

From the series Without a Face by Izabella Demavlys, courtesy of the artist, Maine Media and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – In addition to the annual non-juried member show “Winter Solstice” the Griffin is exhibiting the Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture awarded through Maine Media. On view are this year’s winner C. Rose Smith and finalists Nzingah Oyo, Debmalya Choudhuri and Izabella Demavlys, from December 5th through January 4th, 2026. A reception is planned for December 11th from 5 to 7pm.

For more information: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/newman-prize-2025/

“Constellations XVIII, Whitehaven, Memphis, TN” by Tommy Kha, 2019, courtesy of the artist, Higher Pictures, Brooklyn, NY and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA.

Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover – Tommy Kha is the second recipient of the biannual Bartlett H. Hayes Jr. Prize in support of living artists. In his first solo museum show, Tommy Kha: Other Things Uttered, he pays homage to the Korean-American artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha who, like Kha, explores themes of translation and mistranslation in the sometimes fragmented identities of immigrants. On view through January 25th, 2026.

NOTE: Also on view, “Family Portrait” featuring photography from the Addison’s rich archives through January 4th, 2025 and a large selection of landscape photographs in a multi-media show called “Captive Lands” on view through January 18th, 2025

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/tommy-kha-other-things-uttered-at-the-addison-gallery-of-american-art-andover-ma/

For more information: https://addison.andover.edu/exhibition/hayes-prize-2025-tommy-kha/

“Generations IV” by Sonya Tanae Fort, 2025, courtesy of the artist and the Danforth Museum of Art at Framingham State University.

Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham – With the largest concentration of people from Cape Verde in Brockton, Massachusetts, photographer Sonya Tanae Fort has probed her familial connections to the island nation from her home near Boston, while also exploring the islands of Maio and Fogo. Her soulful black and white images resonate with deep kinship and abiding love. Sonya Tanae Fort: I See You is on view through January 11th, 2026.

For more information: https://danforth.framingham.edu/exhibition/sonya-tanae-fort-i-see-you/

Courtesy of the Davis Museum, Wellesley College.

Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley – Ilse Bing came to prominence during a seminal time in the development of the history of photography, with the rise of 35mm photography, which exerted a powerful impact on the photo-essay and introduced groundbreaking surrealist works made through solarization and photograms. The World’s of Ilse Bing, curated by Dr. Carrie Cushman, Director of the Bates College Museum of Art, and Curatorial Fellow Linda Wyatt Gruber (Wellesley ’66), is organized geographically according to the three cities where Bing lived. It brings her work into conversation with her creative influences and with those who she influenced in the worlds of modern art. On view through December 14th, 2025.

For more information: https://www1.wellesley.edu/davismuseum

From the series Evergreen Tower (2001) by Jung Yeondoo, courtesy of the artist and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.

Peabody Esssex Museum (PEM), Salem – As part of their Korean art bonanza, PEM presents Building Dreams, South Korean artist Jung Yeondoo’s photographic and video investigations into his people’s dreams and aspirations. In his series Bewitched, subjects pose identically in side-by-side scenes picturing what they do versus what they want to do. In the series Evergreen Towers, Yeondoo observes the individuality and personalities of families living in identical units of generic high rise buildings. On view through January 25th, 2026.

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/korean-photographer-jung-yeondoo-building-dreams-show-at-peabody-essex-museum-salem-ma/

For more information, go to: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/jung-yeondoo-building-dreams

CENTRAL AND WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

“Messis No. 2” by Tara Sellios from the series Ask Now the Beasts courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.

Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg – After a three month hiatus to prepare for a centennial celebration, the museum reopens today with the ongoing show Ask Now the Beasts by Tara Sellios on view through May 24th, 2026.

To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/ask-now-the-beasts-tara-sellios-at-fitchburg-art-museum-in-ma/

For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org

CAPE COD

Photograph courtesy of the Jack Bradley Archive and The Workspace Gallery, Eastham, MA.

The Workspace Gallery, Eastham – Jazz Legends: The Jack Bradley Archive, celebrates the golden age of jazz through the eyes of photographer Jack Bradley, who spent years traveling with his close friend Louis Armstrong. During the 1950s through the 60s, Jack Bradley documented jazz legends from Miles Davis to Dizzy Gillespie on stage and behind the scenes in photographs expressing the excitement of performance, along with moments of repose and the warmth of friendship. On view through December 31st, 2025, there will be holiday receptions on Friday, December 5, 4:00–6:00 PM & Saturday, December 6, 3:00–5:00 PM.

For more information, go to: https://bobkornimaging.com/gallery/

ROAD TRIP

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence – An exploration of new ways to view the environment around us, Landscapes: Real or Imagined, a group show juried by Cara Weston, will be on view from November 20th – December 12th, 2025.

For more information: https://www.riphotocenter.org

Connecticut

Sculptor Darrell Petit’s “Circle of Life” photographed by Sean Kernan, from the series and book Darrell Petit in Stone (2024), courtesy of the artists.

The Study at Yale, New Haven – Light & Stone commemorates the 20-year collaboration between Darrell Petit, creator of monumental sculptures, and photographer Sean Kernan, whose images trace Petit’s enigmatic creative process as it evolves from an idea to cutting stone from a quarry to its placement as a sculpture in the landscape. Kernan’s inspiring photographic perspectives explore Petit’s stone works in changing light and weather to reveal the ways sculpture comes alive in the environment. Kernan’s photographs are accompanied by a series of Petit’s smaller works that echo his large-scale installations. On view through December 28th, 2025.

For more information, go to: https://www.thestudyatyale.com/Culture2/Aisling-Gallery/Light-and-Stone

“Saint Anthony Falls, Minneapolis, MN” attributed to Alexander Hesler and Joel Whitney, sixth plate Daguerrotype, from the Greg French Collection, courtesy of the Wadsworth-Atheneum.

The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford – Invented in France by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, the Daguerrotype became widely used for portraiture in the 1840’s, but a few early photographic practitioners such as Sam Bemis and James Presley Ball made landscapes with the difficult process. The Scenic Daguerrotype in America 1840-1860 showcases 83 precious examples from a private collection offering a rare look at the 19th century American landscapes. On view through March 22nd, 2026.

For more information: https://www.thewadsworth.org/explore/on-view/scenic-daguerreotype/

From the exhibition “Photographic Drawings” by Gerald Incandela, courtesy of the artist and the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT.

Also on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford – Gerald Incandela uses a unique darkroom process to blend photography, drawing and painting. In Gerald Incandela: Photographic Drawings the artist creates abstract forms, shapes and imagery to create rich and painterly compositions. On view through March 8th, 2026.

For more information: https://www.thewadsworth.org/explore/on-view/gerald-incandela/

Vermont

“Darrell Petit Kiss at Stony Creek Quarry” photographed by Sean Kernan, from the series and book Darrell Petit in Stone (2024), courtesy of the artists.

Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, West Rutland – This version of Light & Stone runs concurrently with exhibition at The Study at Yale in CT. In celebration of the 20-year collaboration between sculptor Darrell Petit and Sean Kernan, it features some of Petit’s monumental works in the landscape and Kernan’s photographs that follow his creative process from quarrying to installation Their partnership brings viewers on a journey between the two media, using the ephemeral nature of light and photography to document the sheer size and permanence of these granite sculptures. On view through mid-January, 2026.

For more information, go to: https://carvingstudio.org/blogs/news/gallery-opening-light-and-stone-by-darrell-petit-and-sean-kernan