Mystery Revealed! William Eggleston


Last week's photography was part of our newest exhibit The Beautiful Mysterious: The Extraordinary Gaze of William Eggleston

William Eggleston was born in 1939 in Memphis, but grew up on a 12,000 acre cotton plantation in Sumner, MS. He's credited as the father of artistic color photography, and his vivid prints turned the art world on its head when he was featured at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976. Rich colors and eerie atmospheres abound in his work that features different scenes from around the South and United States! 

Eggleston took this image near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The South features prominently in Eggleston's work and he still takes picture in and around Memphis and the Mississippi Delta.
This photo is from a series called Election Eve that was taken in Jimmy Carter's hometown, Plains, GA, just before the 1976 election. The photo shoot was commissioned by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Although Eggleston is considered the father of artistic color photography, he started out taking photographs in black and white. He believed that every space mattered and captured photos of the plain and ordinary, revolutionary for his time.
Look closely, did you notice the bees on this white dress? The longer you spend time with a piece, the more you can discover in it!
These fancy chandeliers were on the set of the 1982 movie musical Annie. Eggleston and eight other photographers were commissioned by John Hughes, the director, to come and catalogue the movie's production.

Tune in next Monday, October 17th for a new Monday Museum Mystery!





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