Chinese Pioneers: Power and Politics in Exclusion Era Photographs
On view through June 25, 2022
This new exhibition explores the Chinese immigrant experience during the years of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and sheds light on the history of Sinophobia and resonates with broader questions about immigration, citizenship, and border control currently being debated.
Currently on View
Chinese Pioneers: Power and Politics in Exclusion Era Photographs
Chinese Pioneers: Power and Politics in Exclusion Era Photographs presents a visual history of the social, political, and judicial disenfranchisement of Chinese Californians—as well as moments of Chinese agency and resilience—during the Exclusion Era (1882–1943). The exhibition is drawn exclusively from the California Historical Society’s collections.
From the Gold Rush to the Earthquake: Selections from the Collection
From the Gold Rush to the Earthquake: Selections from the Collection presents highlights from the California Historical Society’s holdings of paintings, photographs, manuscripts and ephemera. Focusing on key topics in California’s late-nineteenth-century history, the exhibition features selected works from the Gold Rush, the exploration of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and coastal regions, the rise of agriculture and industry in the state, and the city’s devastating 1906 earthquake and fires.
Online Exhibitions
California Counties: 150+ Years Documenting California History
The California Historical Society has been collecting and sharing stories from throughout the state for more than 150 years. We strive to gather and preserve the extraordinarily diverse stories from throughout the state. It is with this in mind that staff scoured our archives to find images from each of California’s fifty-eight counties to feature in this online gallery.
Selections from the Tell Your Story Project
Tell Your Story—California in the Time of COVID-19 is an online project to document the personal experiences of people across the state as they face a historic crisis. View a selection of these stories and pictures.
Upcoming Exhibitions
