From a collection once barred from acquiring photographs to 11,000 portraits: a museum’s rules can change, and the archive grows. Lincoln, Ida B. Wells, Edison, all held in the same frame. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-national-portrait-gallery-wasnt-allowed-to-acquire-photographs-when-it-opened-in-1968-fifty-years-later-the-smithsonian-museums-collection-has-grown-to-11000-photos-and-counting-180989823/By Saskia Vermeer, Nov 13, 2026. 0 likes, 0 comments.