Patrick Montgomery (b. 1949) is a documentary producer/director and photo archivist whose films are centered around archival materials. His most famous creative work is his 1982 documentary that chronicles the life of the Beatles, The Compleat Beatles. As an archivist, Patrick has curated one of the most extensive collections on the early history photography. 

Both our Advanced Portfolio class and Studio class were given the opportunity to explore Patrick’s incredible collection—a collection so extensive that Patrick had to remove his upstairs bathroom to house more materials! His archive consists of historic photographs, daguerreotype prints, old advertisements and how-to guides, antique cameras, and personal artifacts of everyday photographers from around the world. Patrick pushed our students to question the origins of photography, telling students the story of a pharmacist in Brazil creating labels for his medicine as a form of image production. We learned about the chemical science behind photographic methods, rivalries between early inventors, how to source and validate archival materials, and preservation processes so that future generations can experience his archive. Patrick’s collection is a deep examination of how photography has evolved in contemporary culture since its inception.