The Vancouver Art Gallery has received a donation of 556 photographs by acclaimed American photographer Harry Callahan.

The gift, given by the Larry and Cookie Rossy Family Foundation, marks the largest photography donation in the gallery’s history.

The photos feature work that spans Callahan’s 60-year career, and is the most important collection of the photographer’s work in Canada.

The gallery plans to display the works in 2016 as part of an exhibition on Callahan in honour of the 40th anniversary of his 1976 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The exhibit will explore the role of Callahan’s work in the development of modern photography.

Callahan is well-known for experimenting with a large number of approaches to photography, from minimalist nature landscapes to highly emotional social-documentary-style images of city streets.

“This collection is an unparalleled representation of the work of a pioneering photographer of the 20th century, noted and acclaimed for his engagement with a range of photographic techniques,” said Kathleen Bartels, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s director, in a media release.

“We are extremely grateful to The Larry and Cookie Rossy Family Foundation for its generosity, which will enable our audiences to experience the oeuvre of one of the ground-breaking photographers of the last century.”