MoMA Acquires Marianne Wex Photography Project

The Museum of Modern Art added the landmark 1970s photography project Let's Take Back Our Space to its permanent collection.

Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Photography

Bold vector editorial illustration of a grid of empty photo frames, representing the archival nature of a photography project. — The Museum of Modern Art has formally added Marianne Wex’s 1970s photography project 'Let's Take Back Our Space' to its permanent collection. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should major museums prioritize acquiring previously overlooked works from historical artists?

In 2018, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City acquired Let's Take Back Our Space, a comprehensive body language project by photographer Marianne Wex. The work captures gender-coded postures through thousands of images documented in Hamburg during the 1970s.

Why it matters

The acquisition preserves a significant comparative study of gendered physical behavior that challenges social norms through visual analysis. It recognizes the historical importance of a project that remained largely overlooked until the later years of the artist's life.

The completed work spans more than 200 wooden panels created after five years of research. Marianne Wex was 83 years old at the time of her death.

The players

Marianne Wex

Marianne Wex was a photographer known for her long-term project analyzing the influence of gender on human body postures.

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a renowned New York City institution that houses an extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.

The details

Marianne Wex meticulously arranged thousands of photographs onto panels by categorizing subjects into specific postures such as standing arms, sitting legs, and lying down. The project, which debuted in Berlin in 1977, provides an extensive visual index of human body language.

Wex documented body language in Hamburg during the 1970s.
The project debuted at an exhibition in Berlin in 1977.
The Museum of Modern Art acquired the project in 2018.

Culture Shift

This acquisition mirrors the broader societal shift in recognizing historical feminist art that was previously sidelined by traditional galleries. It highlights a departure from aesthetic-focused curation toward the preservation of socio-cultural documentary archives.

New York City residents and art enthusiasts can now access this seminal work through the museum's permanent archival access programs. The acquisition ensures that this research-heavy project remains available for study in future local exhibitions.

The takeaway

The addition of this project to the MoMA collection highlights the long-term value of documentary photography in social analysis. Readers interested in their own photography projects might consider how systematic categorization of daily subjects can transform simple observations into historical research.