Overview

Melissa Shook (1939-2020) was an American photographer, videographer, writer, and teacher based in Chelsea, Massachusetts, best known for her self- and family portraits and documentary-style photography humanizing marginalized people such as immigrants, the elderly, and the homeless, Shook's practice expanded throughout her career to include writing, bookmaking, drawing, sculpture, video art, and social practice. She was a pioneer in exploring identity, motherhood, and interracial families, channeling the spirit of creative freedom and attending the rise of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s.

Her work is in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and Moderna Museet Stockholm, among other institutions.

Exhibitions
Series
Works
  • Melissa Shook, April 1, 1973
    April 1, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, April 27, 1973
    April 27, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, April 5, 1973
    April 5, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 28, 1973
    February 28, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 5, 1973
    February 5, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 13, 1973
    January 13, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 14, 1973
    January 14, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 2, 1973
    January 2, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 12, 1973
    March 12, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 19, 1973
    March 19, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 21, 1973
    March 21, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 24, 1973
    March 24, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, May 14, 1973
    May 14, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, May 7, 1973
    May 7, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, December 5, 1972
    December 5, 1972
  • Melissa Shook, December 8, 1972
    December 8, 1972
  • Melissa Shook, April 29, 1973
    April 29, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, December 1, 1972
    December 1, 1972
  • Melissa Shook, December 31, 1972
    December 31, 1972
  • Melissa Shook, December 7, 1972
    December 7, 1972
  • Melissa Shook, February 15, 1973
    February 15, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 26, 1973
    February 26, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 5, 1973
    February 5, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 7, 1973
    February 7, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, February 9, 1973
    February 9, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 15, 1973
    January 15, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 17, 1973
    January 17, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, January 9, 1973
    January 9, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 1, 1973
    March 1, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 13, 1973
    March 13, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 16, 1973
    March 16, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 16, 1973
    March 16, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 17, 1973
    March 17, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 18, 1973
    March 18, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 2, 1973
    March 2, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 21, 1973
    March 21, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 24, 1973
    March 24, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, March 8, 1973
    March 8, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, May 12, 1973
    May 12, 1973
  • Melissa Shook, May 4, 1973
    May 4, 1973
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