Manuel Dias Exhibition Opening Reception

The Dias Photographic Collection comprises more than 30,000 photographic prints, slides and negatives taken by professional photographer Manuel Peixoto Dias (1918-2005). In addition to working for the Stanislaus County Office of Education, Manuel was a staff photographer with the Modesto Bee for over three decades. He also owned a private photography business in which he was contracted by local clientele to take aerial photography. The aerial photography component comprises photographs of agriculture, industry, irrigation, recreation, roadways, schools, and urban areas of the San Joaquin Valley. The Portuguese culture component comprises photographs of the Azores, Portugal, Madeira, California, and Hawaii, with a focus on farming, seafaring, bullfighting, and portraiture.