Photography Exhibit

Photography is a juried exhibit of original photography, in black-and-white, color, or alternative methods.

Limit 2 entries per artist. Entries to not measure more than 3'6" in any direction.

New this year, with $100 cash prize! Special thanks to Seamus and Amy Hourihan for their sponsorship.

The Joseph Dixon Award for Experimental Photography:

Joseph Dixon was born in Marblehead in 1799. His father was a ship’s captain who brought back Ceylonese graphite to Marblehead as ballast in his ships, which Joseph repurposed into pencils he made at home,  and initially sold door to door to his neighbors. His iconic yellow and green pencils would eventually be mass produced and widely known as the Dixon Ticonderoga. In addition, he used graphite to make a very successful stove polish, and to create heat proof crucibles used in the forging of iron and steel.  He was also an inventor who tinkered with camera optics and lenses, making a forerunner to the modern camera view finder. He and Salem resident Francis Peabody collaborated on photolithograhy methods for printing bank notes in order to thwart counterfeiters. He was a friend to many notable American inventors including Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Fulton and Steven Morse. He died in New Jersey in 1869 at the age of 70.  

The Joseph Dixon Award in Experimental Photography is awarded annually to artists using non-traditional photographic techniques and materials such as cyanotypes, tintypes, emulsion lifts, chemigrams and lumen prints.

Samuel Chamberlain Award

The Samuel Chamberlain Award (SCA) is presented annually to a photographer in

memory of the renowned artist, teacher, and author Samuel Chamberlain, who lived in

and intimately documented Marblehead from the 1930s until his death in 1975. He was

gifted in lithography, etching, pencil drawing, dry point, and photography. He was also

the author of more than 70 books, including his 1968 illustrated autobiography, Etched

in Sunlight. Chamberlain had studied architecture at MIT, but in the early 1920s he

found his artistic home in the graphic arts, which brought him numerous prizes and

awards in both the United States and Europe. In the late 1930s, he took up photography

and published a series of books on early American architecture and furniture. The first

Samuel Chamberlain Award, established by the Reporter Publishing Company and

Forumgraphics, was given at the Photography exhibit during the 1975 Festival.

Photojournalism Award

The Photojournalism Award (PJA) is presented annually at the Photography exhibit to

recognize a black-and-white or color photograph possessing informative content and

emotional impact relative to human interest, documentary presentation, or spot news.

The winning image captures a “moment in time” and reflects both journalistic value and

pictorial quality.

Chairs: MaryAlice Alexander and Carol Hanson

Contact: photography@marbleheadfestival.org

Awards: Best  of Show ($125), Outstanding Work ($50), Honorable Mention, People’s  Choice Awards; Special Awards: Samuel Chamberlain Award, Photojournalism  Award, (NEW) Joseph Dixon Award