Anna Fárová has been an indefatigable champion of photography for more than 50 years, and she is still going strong. The current exhibition at Langhans Gallery honors her work as an internationally respected theorist, curator, writer and arts organizer from 1956 to the present.

The exhibit includes almost 100 original works by photographers who have captured her interest, some of whom she has personally worked with, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Sudek and Josef Koudelka. The photographers with whom Fárová connects, often over long periods of time, seem to share her view that "any approach to photography is meaningful, providing its results are valuable."

The exhibit starts with 1956 because that was year Fárová, as a young art historian, met Cartier-Bresson in Paris, and then soon afterward published the first Cartier-Bresson monograph. This opened the door to not only her lifelong friendship with the famous photographer, but to a life immersed in photography.

The exhibition follows Fárová's life and career and is separated into several sections, each room including documentation such as reproductions of book covers, selected pages from books and articles written by Fárová about the photographers whose works are on view in the room.

Beginning in the cellar of the gallery, there are photos by the deans of humanistic photojournalism, including Cartier-Bresson, André Kertész, Werner Bischoff, Marc Riboud, Inge Morath and Robert Capa. In one corner of the room, Irving Penn's portrait of Marcel Duchamp in New York (1948) is aptly placed, showing Duchamp backed into a tight corner, wearing a suit and smoking a pipe, looking ever cool.

Just as Fárová introduced foreign photographers to Czechs, she was also instrumental in exposing and promoting the unique contributions of Czech photography to the outside world. Thus the room at the entrance to the gallery features masters of Czech avant-garde photography, including Jaroslav Rössler, Jaromír Funke, František Drtikol, Eugen Wiškovský, Jiří Sever, Miroslav Hák and Jindřich Štyrský.

While Fárová worked at the Museum of Decorative Arts (UMPRUM) from 1970 to 1977, she acquired important works for the museum's collection, including those by neglected pioneers such as Rössler, and she also cataloged the 1901-35 output of František Drtikol — after which she began to promote him extensively abroad.

Sudek inconspicuously dominates this room, just as he shared a special part of Fárová's life. She first met him when she was 18, at a social evening listening to gramophone records at his studio, and they remained friends over the years. After signing Charter 77, she was fired from her job at the museum and banned from publishing (at home but not abroad). Without official employment, she helped Sudek's sister catalog his work after his death. Thus, she became the author of the definitive monograph on Sudek, published by Torst. She also initiated the reconstruction of his studio, which reopened in 2000 as a photo gallery.

Upstairs, there are the modern Czech photographers, including Fárová's close friends Emila Medková and Josef Koudelka. There are also panoramic shots by Jiří Toman, photos by Zdeněk Tmej with humorously detailed captions and works by the inimitable Jan Saudek.

In a separate room on the third floor, there are photos from Fárová's series of exhibitions held in the lobby of the Činoherní klub (Drama Club Theater) in Prague from 1978 to 1981. These photos capture the élan of Czech life, ironically during a sordid, bleak political period.

After 1989, Fárová began working with young designers and photographers (including her daughter Gabina) to publish the magazine Post for Radost publishing house. There are copies of the issues in the gallery's library, along with some original photos from magazine shoots. And finally, the last small room on the top floor is dedicated to Fárová's current projects, including photos by Iren Stehli and Dušan Šimánek.