The Family of Man is the most widely seen exhibition in the history of photography. The book of the exhibition, still in print, is also the most commercially successful photobook ever published. First shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1955, the exhibition traveled throughout the United States and to 46 countries, and was seen by more than nine million people. Edward Steichen conceived, curated, and designed the exhibition. He explained its subject as "the everydayness of life" and "the essential oneness of mankind throughout the world." The exhibition was a statement against war and the conflicts and divisions that threatened a common future for humanity after 1945. The popular international response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Many critics, however, have dismissed the exhibition as a form of sentimental humanism unable to address the challenges of history, politics, and cultural difference.