Conlon Collection Photos On Display in Openhouse Gallery Exhibit

Charles Conlon, the photographer who chronicled baseball’s development in the early 20th century, will have a showing of 20 of his major works at the Openhouse Gallery, 201 Mulberry Street in New York City, on Sept. 19 from 6:30-10:30 p.m.

The invitation-only event will include five original works of art replicating the Conlon Collection by the celebrated photorealist artist Adam Port.
Mr. Port has been invited by the John Rogers Photo Archives, (www.RogersPhotoArchives.com), the evening’s presenter, and owner of the complete Sporting News photo archives, which includes the Conlon Collection. Mr. Rogers and Mr. Port will be present for the event, along with a number of sports and entertainment celebrities arranged by Momentum Sports Management Inc. Both the Conlon photos and the Port originals will be offered for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House of New York.

Conlon, who is to baseball what Mathew Brady was to Civil War photography, was a New York-based photographer who shot the game from 1904-42, pioneering action photography while taking remarkable pictures of the game’s maturity into the national pastime. His best-known work, a determined Ty Cobb sliding into third, will be among the works displayed, and among the pieces captured by Mr. Port. Working at Hilltop Park, the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, Washington Park and Ebbets Field, Conlon was able to capture players from both leagues – four decades of stars and common players. His work is preserved in some 8,400 glass negatives, and is currently featured in a book, The Big Show, written by Neal McCabe and Constance McCabe, and published by Sporting News in conjunction with the John Rogers Photo Archives.

The Rogers Archives, based in North Little Rock, Ark., also owns the photo archives of Sport Magazine, Boston Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit News, St. Petersburg Times, Denver Post and Seattle Times, in addition to the individual collections of photographers like Barney Stein, Don Wingfield, and Arthur Rickerby, along with audio tapes from authors, the archives of the George Michael Sports Machine and the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Rogers Photo Archives licenses use of the images to publishers and collectors, and PlanetGIANT markets the photography in a variety of ways to consumers, such as inspirational posters and laptop skins.