The Ewing Gallery in the Art and Architecture Building is hosting Eugene de Salignac's photographs of New York's early 20th century skyline in an exhibit entitled "New York Rises." The exhibit runs from Sept. 2-Oct. 1 and consists of fifty black-and-white prints that adorn the Ewing Gallery's walls.

"His sense of design and lighting capture a moment in time, like only photography does well," Sam Yates, director of the Ewing Gallery, said of Salignac's pieces. 

Salignac was the sole photographer at the Department of Bridges of Plant and Structures in New York from 1906–1934. He died in 1943 at the age of 82 after taking more than 20,000 photos of the city.

Eugene de Salignac has left the world a magnificent legacy with these astonishing photographs -Cindy Spangler, collections manager of the Ewing Gallery

In 1999, Michael Lorenzini, who worked at the New York City Municipal Archives, discovered Salignac's prints and began researching to find out who took the historic photographs of the city. It was only recently that Salignac has gained posthumous recognition for his work, Yates said.

Cindy Spangler, collections manager of the Ewing Gallery, said, "No one seems to know if he [Salignac] had received formal training or he was simply a very skilled amateur.

"We will probably never know the answer but one thing cannot be disputed: Eugene de Salignac has left the world a magnificent legacy with these astonishing photographs that capture the rising up of one of the most famous cities in the world."

In conjunction with this exhibit, Baldwin Lee, UT professor of photography, has an exhibit in the UT Downtown Gallery from Aug. 22-Sept. 20.  Lee grew up in Chinatown, N.Y., and his photographs from the 70s to the 90s depict the various aspects of New York City.  

Lorenzini, who is now exhibition curator of "New York Rises," will come to UT Thursday, Sept. 18, to speak of his job as the photography curator of the New York City Municipal Archives. He will speak at 7 p.m in Room 109 in the Art and Architecture Building.

Prior to his current job, Lorenzini was an editor at Aperture magazine, which has organized the "New York Rises" exhibit to come to UT before moving on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.