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William Eggleston , b. Jul 27, 1939

Huntsville, Alabama

c. 1970
18 5/16 in. x 12 3/4 in. (46.51 cm x 32.39 cm)

Medium and Support: Dye transfer print

Credit Line: Museum purchase

Accession Number: 1990.40

Commentary

Gallery label for Walls and Beams, Rooms and Dreams, January 23 - July 31, 2016

Raised on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, William Eggleston has created a singular portrait of his native South. Photographing "democratically” since the late 1960s, Eggleston considers anything in front of the camera to be worthy of a picture—a lone light bulb suspended from a ceiling, a collection of shoes stowed beneath a bed, the frozen contents of an old icebox. Everything is equally important; every detail deserves attention. Yet while Eggleston’s photographs may describe everyday subjects, they are no ordinary pictures. Transformed by the artist’s sharp observational skills, keen wit, and masterful use of color, the banal “stuff” of our lives is given elevated meaning and seen anew.

Allison Kemmerer
Mead Curator of Photography and Curator of Art after 1950

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Physical Presence: Photographs from the Collection Addison Gallery of American Art , 1/16/2004 - 3/21/2004
In Focus: 75 Years of Collecting American Photography Addison Gallery of American Art , 4/28/2006 - 7/31/2006
Inside, Outside, Upstairs, Downstairs: The Addison Anew Addison Gallery of American Art , 9/7/2010 - 3/27/2011
Muse [Phillips Academy Art 300] Addison Gallery of American Art , 3/8/2011 - 3/27/2011
Exterior Spaces, Interior Places Addison Gallery of American Art , 9/2/2014 - 1/4/2015
Walls and Beams, Rooms and Dreams: Images of Home Addison Gallery of American Art , 1/23/2016 - 7/31/2016
A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 High Museum of Art , 3/2/2024 - 7/31/2024

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