In 1994, when John Baer died, his son Andrew discovered the full heft of his father’s photographic life stowed away in bins and boxes in the damp basement of his Rhode Island home. As Andrew remembers, it was a jumble. Detailed and extensive, yes. Organized, no.

For twenty-seven years the collection moved when Andrew moved and got stored safely in each new home.  Andrew pulled out some choice prints, which he hung on his walls. Friends would comment that the pictures were great, exceptional even. He had in mind to some day do something with the contents of these bins. But what? 

Until one day in 2021, Andrew and his wife, Megan Moynihan, an architect and art consultant, took the plunge. They opened the boxes and began to sort through hundreds of prints and thousands of negatives to see what stories they held. 

Stories of Europe emerging from the darkness of war.  Stories of New York City and the optimism of the early 50s.  Stories of a generation and stories of John Baer, seen through the lens of his Leica.