A note on the photographs in this exhibition
Because of the huge number of images held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), selecting photographs for this exhibition involved difficult and subjective choices. For the most part, the exhibit concentrates on developments within American society and on activities abroad where Americans were significant participants. The photographs from the White House Photo Office were included because they will become part of the Clinton Presidential Library, and because they allowed the exhibit to round out its coverage of the late 20th century.

Caption information set off in quotation marks is taken directly from the original written materials accompanying the photograph. Where a caption was incomplete or unavailable, a general explanatory caption has been added.

"Picturing the Century: One Hundred Years of Photography from the National Archives" opened March 12, 1999 and is on display in the Circular Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, through July 4, 2001. In early 2000 many of the photographs in the original exhibition were replaced with others from the holdings of the National Archives. The photographs in this on line presentation were drawn from the first version of the exhibition.