ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Eadweard Muybridge: The Man Who Captured Motion

other · 2026-05-05

Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904) was a relentless experimenter who pushed the boundaries of nascent photography by studying motion and anticipating cinema. A video-animation produced by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of a series on photography pioneers summarizes his story in minutes: from exploring Yosemite's wilderness to the legendary photographic gun experiment that revealed the true dynamics of a racehorse; from building a mobile photography studio to inventing the zoopraxiscope, and his controversial 1870s murder trial for shooting his wife's lover.

Key facts

  • Eadweard Muybridge lived from 1830 to 1904.
  • He was an English artist and experimenter.
  • He studied motion and anticipated cinema.
  • The video-animation is part of a series on photography pioneers.
  • The series was produced by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
  • He explored Yosemite's wilderness.
  • He conducted the photographic gun experiment with a racehorse.
  • He invented the zoopraxiscope.
  • He was involved in a murder trial in the 1870s for shooting his wife's lover.

Entities

Artists

  • Eadweard Muybridge

Institutions

  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Locations

  • Yosemite
  • San Francisco
  • United States

Sources