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In the two decades following photography’s invention around 1839, a group of French painter-photographers embraced and advanced the new medium’s artistic potential. This formative generation, which included Gustave Le Gray, Charles Nègres, and Eugène Cuvelier, elevated the craft and critical dialogue swirling around photography, a medium many felt was better suited to science, industry, and commerce than art. This lecture by Dr. April M. Watson, Senior Curator, Photography at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, will explore the significance of these artists and the debates they sparked as they helped set the stage for the radical innovations brought about by Impressionism.