An exhibition of historic photographs
February 6, 2026 – March 7, 2027
St. PHOTIOS GREEK ORTHODOX NATIONAL SHRINE
St. Augustine, Florida, USA
The Mount Athos Center (Thessaloniki, Greece) in collaboration with the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University, USA, the Mount Athos Foundation of America, and the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, present in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, the exhibition with historical photographs and the surviving film, from the silent film era, from the expedition of three travelers – artists from Princeton to Mount Athos and Meteora in 1929.
The opening of the exhibition is scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026, on the feast day of Saint Photius, at the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine (St. Augustine, Florida, USA). The exhibition is part of the Organization’s events for the annual feast day of Saint Photios. Executive Director Carl R. Hollister stated, “we are honoured to be hosting this remarkable exhibit and are equally grateful that Anastasios Ntouros the Exhibition Curator will be present for the ribbon cutting”. The St. Photios National Shrine is grateful for the generosity of the AHEPA Foundation for sponsoring the exhibit in St. Augustine.
A few words about the photographic archive and the exhibition:
External view from the footpath that leads to Vatopedi Monastery, with Athos dominating the scene.
Towards the end of 2017, during a move of the old libraries of Princeton University’s Department of Art and Archaeology, the staff discovered a hidden barrel containing photographic material relating to an unknown and long-forgotten journey.
The research that was carried out by members of the departmental staff revealed that the nine canisters of film that had been placed inside the barrel contained the record of a journey
undertaken by a group of travellers to Mount Athos and the Meteora. Further research succeeded in establishing a connection between the film material and 254 photographic prints and 81 glass lantern slides (16 of which were hand-coloured) that already existed, though unidentified, in the Visual Resources Collection of Princeton University.
The journey to Greece took place in the autumn of 1929 and the group of travellers comprised the Russian emigré, painter, explorer and gifted communicator Vladimir “Vovo” Perfilieff, the photographer, talented cinematographer and later Oscar prize-winner Floyd Crosby, and the architect and Princeton University graduate Gordon McCormick. The three travellers were accompanied by the young Anastasios Chatzimitsos, an interpreter from Thessaloniki. The expedition’s main destination was Mount Athos, where the aim was to photograph and film a place which was then regarded as being mysterious, unique and unaltered by the passage of time.
The members of the expedition were struck by the superb natural scenery, the architecture of the monasteries, the daily life of the monks, their encounter with the cave-dwelling hermit Elias and the remarkable conditions in which he lived.
The photographs in the collection bring to light rare material and the information they provide in the fields of history, social studies, folklore and architecture is extremely important as it extends the range of original sources and adds invaluable new data to the historical research on two leading monastic centres of the Orthodox world: Mount Athos and the Meteora.
Research & Curation of the exhibition:
Anastasios Ntouros, Director of Mount Athos Center
Exhibition duration: February 6, 2026 – March 7, 2027
St. PHOTIOS GREEK ORTHODOX NATIONAL SHRINE
St. Augustine, Florida, USA
41 St. George Street
St. Augustine, FL, 32084