William Eggleston (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition for

color photography Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The Democratic Forest'' (1989).

Early years

William Eggleston was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

and raised in Sumner, Mississippi. His father was an engineer and his mother was the daughter of a prominent local judge. As a boy, Eggleston was introverted; he enjoyed playing the piano, drawing, and working with electronics. From an early age, he was also drawn to visual media and reportedly enjoyed buying postcards and cutting out pictures from magazines. At the age of 15, Eggleston was sent to the Webb School, a boarding establishment. Eggleston later recalled few fond memories of the school, telling a reporter, "It had a kind of Spartan routine to 'build character'. I never knew what that was supposed to mean. It was so callous and dumb. It was the kind of place where it was considered effeminate to like music and painting." Eggleston was unusual among his peers in eschewing the traditional Southern male pursuits of hunting and sports, in favor of artistic pursuits and observation of the world. Nevertheless, Eggleston noted that he never felt like an outsider. "I never had the feeling that I didn't fit in," he told a reporter, "But probably I didn't." Eggleston attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

for a year, Delta State College for a semester, and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

for about five years, but did not complete any degree. Nonetheless, his interest in photography took root when a friend at Vanderbilt gave Eggleston a

Leica camera Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetzlar, Germany. ...

. He was introduced to

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

at Ole Miss by visiting painter Tom Young.

Artistic development

Eggleston's early photographic efforts were inspired by the work of Swiss-born photographer

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, and by French photographer

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as ca ...

's book, '' The Decisive Moment.'' Eggleston later recalled that the book was "the first serious book I found, from many awful books...I didn't understand it a bit, and then it sank in, and I realized, my God, this is a great one." First photographing in black-and-white, Eggleston began experimenting with

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

in 1965 and 1966 after being introduced to the format by

William Christenberry William Andrew Christenberry Jr. (November 5, 1936 – November 28, 2016) was an American photographer, painter, sculptor, and teacher who drew inspiration from his childhood in Hale County, Alabama. Christenberry focused extensively on architec ...

. Color transparency film became his dominant medium in the later 1960s. Eggleston's development as a photographer seems to have taken place in relative isolation from other artists. In an interview, John Szarkowski describes his first encounter with the young Eggleston in 1969 as being "absolutely out of the blue". After reviewing Eggleston's work (which he recalled as a suitcase full of "drugstore" color prints) Szarkowski prevailed upon the Photography Committee of MoMA to buy one of Eggleston's photographs. In 1970, Eggleston's friend

introduced him to

Walter Hopps Walter "Chico" Hopps (May 3, 1932 – March 20, 2005) was an American museum director, gallerist, and curator of contemporary art. Hopps helped bring Los Angeles post-war artists to prominence during the 1960s, and later went on to redefine pract ...

, director of Washington, D.C.'s

Corcoran Gallery The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desi ...

. Hopps later reported being "stunned" by Eggleston's work: "I had never seen anything like it." Eggleston taught at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1973 and 1974, and it was during these years that he discovered dye-transfer printing; he was examining the price list of a photographic lab in Chicago when he read about the process. As Eggleston later recalled: "It advertised 'from the cheapest to the ultimate print.' The ultimate print was a dye transfer. I went straight up there to look and everything I saw was commercial work like pictures of cigarette packs or perfume bottles but the color saturation and the quality of the ink were overwhelming. I couldn't wait to see what a plain Eggleston picture would look like with the same process. Every photograph I subsequently printed with the process seemed fantastic and each one seemed better than the previous one." The dye-transfer process resulted in some of Eggleston's most striking and famous work, such as his 1973 photograph entitled '' The Red Ceiling'', of which Eggleston said, "The Red Ceiling is so powerful, that in fact, I've never seen it reproduced on the page to my satisfaction. When you look at the dye it is like red blood that's wet on the wall... A little red is usually enough, but to work with an entire red surface was a challenge." At Harvard, Eggleston prepared his first portfolio, entitled ''14 Pictures'' (1974). Eggleston's work was exhibited at MoMA in 1976. Although this was over three decades after MoMa had mounted a solo exhibition of color photographs by Eliot Porter, and a decade after MoMA had exhibited color photographs by

Ernst Haas Ernst Haas (March 2, 1921 – September 12, 1986) was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer. During his 40-year career, Haas bridged the gap between photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium for expression an ...

,reCREATION: The first color photography exhibition at MoMA, 1962
, Opinarte, 2005 the tale that the Eggleston exhibition was MoMA's first exhibition of color photography is frequently repeated,Two examples: " gglestonmanaged to convince oMAto grant him their very first one-man exhibition of color photography" (Jim Lewis,
Kodachrome Moment: How William Eggleston's revolutionary exhibition changed everything
, ''Slate,'' February 10, 2003); "a controversial but revolutionary exhibition in 1976—MoMA's first solo show to feature color photographs—and a classic accompanying book, ''William Eggleston's Guide''"
William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961–2008
, Corcoran Gallery of Art, 2009). and the 1976 show is regarded as a watershed moment in the history of photography, by marking "the acceptance of colour photography by the highest validating institution" (in the words of Mark Holborn). Around the time of his 1976 MoMA exhibition, Eggleston was introduced to

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * V ...

, the

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

"superstar", with whom he began a long relationship. During this period Eggleston became familiar with Andy Warhol's circle, a connection that may have helped foster Eggleston's idea of the "democratic camera", Mark Holborn suggests. Also in the 1970s, Eggleston experimented with video, producing several hours of roughly edited footage Eggleston calls ''Stranded in Canton''. Writer Richard Woodward, who has viewed the footage, likens it to a "demented home movie", mixing tender shots of his children at home with shots of drunken parties, public urination, and a man biting off a chicken's head before a cheering crowd in New Orleans. Woodward suggests that the film is reflective of Eggleston's "fearless naturalism—a belief that by looking patiently at what others ignore or look away from, interesting things can be seen." Eggleston's published books and portfolios include ''Los Alamos'' (completed in 1974, but published much later), ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (the catalog of the 1976 MoMa exhibit), the massive ''Election Eve'' (1977; a portfolio of photographs taken around Plains, Georgia, the rural seat of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

before the 1976 presidential election), ''The Morals of Vision'' (1978), ''Flowers'' (1978), ''Wedgwood Blue'' (1979), ''Seven'' (1979), ''Troubled Waters'' (1980), ''The Louisiana Project'' (1980), ''William Eggleston's Graceland'' (1984; a series of commissioned photographs of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's Graceland, depicting the singer's home as an airless, windowless tomb in custom-made bad taste), ''The Democratic Forest'' (1989), ''Faulkner's Mississippi'' (1990), and ''Ancient and Modern'' (1992). Some of his early series were not shown until the late 2000s. The ''Nightclub Portraits'' (1973), a series of large black-and-white portraits in bars and clubs around Memphis was, for the most part, not shown until 2005. ''Lost and Found'', part of Eggleston's ''Los Alamos'' series, is a body of photographs that have remained unseen for decades because until 2008 no one knew that they belonged to

; the works from this series chronicle road trips the artist took with Hopps, leaving from Memphis and traveling as far as the West Coast. Eggleston's ''Election Eve'' photographs were not editioned until 2011. Eggleston also worked with filmmakers, photographing the set of

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's film ''Annie'' (1982) and documenting the making of

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

's film ''True Stories'' (1986). In 2017, an album of Eggleston's music was released, ''Musik.'' It comprises 13 "experimental electronic soundscapes", "often dramatic improvisations on compositions by Bach (his hero) and Handel as well as his singular takes on a Gilbert and Sullivan tune and the jazz standard On the Street Where You Live." ''Musik'' was made entirely on a 1980s Korg synthesiser, and recorded to floppy disks. The 2017 compilation ''Musik'' was produced by Tom Lunt, and released on Secretly Canadian. In 2018, Áine O'Dwyer performed the music on a pipe organ at the Big Ears music festival in Knoxville.

Eggleston's aesthetic

Eggleston's mature work is characterized by its ordinary subject matter. As

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel '' The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerou ...

noted in her introduction to ''The Democratic Forest'', an Eggleston photograph might include "old tires, Dr. Pepper machines, discarded air-conditioners, vending machines, empty and dirty Coca-Cola bottles, torn posters, power poles and power wires, street barricades, one-way signs, detour signs, No Parking signs, parking meters, and palm trees crowding the same curb." Eudora Welty suggests that Eggleston sees the complexity and beauty of the mundane world: "The extraordinary, compelling, honest, beautiful and unsparing photographs all have to do with the quality of our lives in the everyday world: they succeed in showing us the grain of the present, like the cross-section of a tree... They focus on the mundane world. But ''no'' subject is fuller of implications than the mundane world!" Mark Holborn, in his introduction to ''Ancient and Modern,'' writes about the dark undercurrent of these mundane scenes as viewed through Eggleston's lens: " ggleston'ssubjects are, on the surface, the ordinary inhabitants and environs of suburban Memphis and Mississippi—friends, family, barbecues, back yards, a tricycle and the clutter of the mundane. The normality of these subjects is deceptive, for behind the images there is a sense of lurking danger." American artist

Edward Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...

said of Eggleston's work, "When you see a picture he's taken, you're stepping into some kind of jagged world that seems like Eggleston World." According to Philip Gefter from ''

Art & Auction ''Art+Auction'' is a monthly art magazine published in New York City by Louise Blouin Media Louise Blouin Media is an art magazine and book publishing company based in New York City. Founded by Louise Blouin,. Archived March 18, 2006. it pu ...

'', "It is worth noting that Stephen Shore and William Eggleston, pioneers of color photography in the early 1970s, borrowed, consciously or not, from the photorealists. Their photographic interpretation of the American vernacular—gas stations, diners, parking lots—is foretold in photorealist paintings that preceded their pictures."

Publications

* ''Election Eve''. New York City:

Caldecot Chubb Caldecot "Cotty" Chubb (born March 3, 1950) is an American film producer who has produced films such as ''Eve's Bayou'', '' Hoffa'', ''Unthinkable'', ''The Crow'', '' Dark Blue'' and ''Pootie Tang''. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best ...

, 1977. Artist book. Two volumes. Edition of five copies. ** Göttingen:

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany. It was started in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl and is still run by him. Overview The company was started by Ger ...

; 2017. . One volume. * ''Morals of Vision''. New York City:

, 1978. Artist book. Edition of fifteen copies. ** Göttingen: Steidl; 2018. . * ''Flowers''. New York City:

, 1978. Artist book. Edition of fifteen copies. ** Göttingen: Steidl; 2019. . * ''William Eggleston's Guide''. New York:

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

, 1976. . * ''The Democratic Forest''. ** London:

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

, 1989. With an introduction by

and an afterword by Eggleston and Mark Holborn. ** New York: Doubleday, 1989. . With an introduction by Welty and an afterword by Eggleston and Mark Holborn. ** Expanded edition. Göttingen: Steidl, 2015. . Ten volume set, 1328 pages, 1010 photographs. ** ''The Democratic Forest: Selected Works.'' New York: David Zwirner; Göttingen: Steidl, 2016. . 68 photographs. * ''Faulkner's Mississippi''. Birmingham:

Oxmoor House Oxmoor House was the book publishing division of Southern Progress Corporation, which was based in Birmingham, Alabama. Oxmoor House was founded in 1979 when it began publishing Southern Living's ''Southern Living Annual Recipes''. It published ...

, 1990. . With a text by Willie Morris. * ''Ancient and Modern''. New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 1992. . With an introduction by Mark Holborn. * ''Horses and Dogs.'' Washington and London:

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

, 1994. . Essay by Richard B. Woodward. * ''The Hasselblad Award 1998: William Eggleston.'' Zurich: Scalo; Goteborg: Hasselblad Center, 1999. . Edited by Gunilla Knape. With essays by Walter Hopps and Thomas Weski, and a transcript of an interview with Ute Eskildsen. * ''William Eggleston.'' Göttingen: Steidl; Paris: Foundation Cartier, 2001. . Bilingual (French and English). * ''Los Alamos.'' Zurich: Scalo Publishers, 2003. . With a text by Walter Hopps and Thomas Weski. * ''2 ''. Santa Fe: Twin Palms Publishers, 1999, 2008, 2011. . With a text by

Bruce Wagner Bruce Alan Wagner (born March 22, 1954) is an American novelist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles known for his apocalyptic yet ultimately spiritual view of humanity as seen through the lens of the Hollywood entertainment industry. Early lif ...

. * ''The Spirit of Dunkerque.'' ** Paris: Biro, 2006. . ** Corte Madera, CA: Gingko, 2009. With a text by Vincent Gerard and Jean-pierre Rehm. * ''5 × 7.'' Santa Fe: Twin Palms Publishers, 2007. . With an essay by

Michael Almereyda Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early work Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on ...

. * ''William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961–2008.'' With a text by Elisabeth Sussman, Thomas Weski, Tina Kukielski, and Stanley Booth. Exhibition catalog. ** New York:

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

, 2008. ** New Haven, CT:

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, 2008. . * ''Paris''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2009. . * ''Before Color''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010. . * ''For Now''. Santa Fe: Twin Palms Publishing, 2010. . Afterword by Michael Almereyda; short texts, "Eggleston, 1971" by Lloyd Fonvielle, "In Conversation with William Eggleston" by Kristina McKenna, "Two Women and One Man" by

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

, "Night Vision: The Cinema of William Eggleston" by Any Taubin, and a longer text "It Never Entered My Mind": ''(Answers to 11 frequently asked questions about William Eggleston in the Real World)''" by Michael Almereyda. * ''Chromes''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2011. . * ''Los Alamos Revisited''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2012. . * ''From Black & White to Color.'' Göttingen: Steidl, 2014. . With an introduction by Agnès Sire ("The Invention of a Language"), essay by Thomas Weski. * ''At Zenith.'' Göttingen: Steidl, 2014. . * ''Polaroid SX-70''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2019. . * ''The Outlands''. Steidl, 2021. ISBN 978-3-95829-265-9

Photographs in notable publications

The earliest commercial use of Eggleston's art was on album covers for the Memphis group

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...

, with whom Eggleston recorded for the album ''

Third/Sister Lovers ''Third'' (reissued in 1985 as ''Third/Sister Lovers'') is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 197 ...

'' and who used his photograph of a red ceiling on their album '' Radio City.'' Eggleston's photograph of dolls on a Cadillac hood featured on the cover of the

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

album '' Like Flies on Sherbert.'' The

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). ...

album '' Give Out But Don't Give Up'' features a cropped photograph of a neon Confederate flag and a palm tree by Eggleston. In 1994, Eggleston allowed his long-time friend and fellow photographer

Terry Manning Terry Manning is an American photographer, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, audio engineer, and visual artist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ...

to use two Eggleston photographs for the front and back covers of the CD release of ''Christopher Idylls'', an album of ethereal acoustic guitar music produced by Manning and performed by another friend of Eggleston, Gimmer Nicholson. In 2006, an Eggleston image was coincidentally used as both the cover to

's single " Country Girl" and the paperback edition of

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

's novel ''

The Accidental ''The Accidental'' is a 2005 novel by Scottish author Ali Smith. It follows a middle-class English family who are visited by an uninvited guest, Amber, while they are on holiday in a small village in Norfolk. Amber's arrival has a profound ...

''. The same picture had already been used on the cover of Chuck Prophet's ''Age of Miracles'' album in 2004. In 2001, Eggleston's photograph "Memphis (1968)" was used as the cover of

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They ...

's top-selling album ''

Bleed American ''Bleed American'' is the fourth studio album by American Rock music, rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on July 24, 2001, by DreamWorks Records. The album was re-released as ''Jimmy Eat World'' following the September 11 attacks; that name r ...

''. Eggleston's photos also appear on ''

Tanglewood Numbers ''Tanglewood Numbers'' is the fifth studio album by Silver Jews, released in 2005. Like on all of their other albums, Silver Jews' principal song writer and constant band member is David Berman. On this album fourteen other musicians are involve ...

'' by the

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berma ...

, ''

Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band ''Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band'' is an EP by Joanna Newsom, first released on April 9, 2007, via Drag City. The EP was recorded and mixed over three days at The Plant Studios after Joanna had cancelled three consecutive shows due to ...

'' by

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francis ...

, ''

Transference Transference (german: Übertragung) is a phenomenon within psychotherapy in which the "feelings, attitudes, or desires" a person had about one thing are subconsciously projected onto the here-and-now Other. It usually concerns feelings from a ...

'' by

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

and '' Delta Kream'' by

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

Films

Documentary appearances

* ''

William Eggleston in the Real World ''William Eggleston in the Real World'' is a documentary film about the photographer William Eggleston directed by Michael Almereyda and released in 2005.Michael Almereyda Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early work Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on ...

. * ''By the Ways: A Journey with William Eggleston'' (2007), directed by Vincent Gérard and Cédric Laty – selected for the Grand Jury Prize at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

in 2006. * ''The Colourful Mr. Eggleston'' (2009), directed by Jack Cocker and Reiner Holzemer – an episode of the '' Imagine (TV series)'' for BBC One. * ''The Source'' (2012), by

Doug Aitken Doug Aitken (born 1968) is an American artist. Aitken's body of work ranges from photography, print media, sculpture, and architectural interventions, to narrative films, sound, single and multi-channel video works, installations, and live perf ...

.It can be viewe
here at a dedicated website
* '' Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me'' (2013), directed by Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori.

Movie and series appearances

* ''

Great Balls of Fire "Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie ''Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 re ...

'' (1989), directed by Jim McBride – Eggleston plays Jerry Lee Lewis's father, Elmo Lewis. * ''Restless'', x-ray technician (2011), as himself. * ''Today'' (TV Series) (episode dated 31 May 2011), as himself. * ''Sunday Morning'' (A Father and Daughter's Artistic Collaboration, 2016)

Music

* ''Musik'' ( Secretly Canadian, 2017) – produced by Tom Lunt

Exhibitions

* 1999–2000: ''William Eggleston and the Color Tradition'',

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

, Los Angeles. * 2001–2002: ''William Eggleston'', Fondation Cartier, Paris. Traveled to

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the R ...

, London. * 2002: documenta 11, Kassel, Germany. * 2002: ''William Eggleston: Los Alamos'',

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

, Cologne, Germany. Traveled to

Serralves Foundation Serralves is a cultural institution located in Porto, Portugal. It includes a Contemporary Art Museum, a Park, and a Villa, each one an example of contemporary architecture, Modernism, and Art Deco architecture. The Museum, designed by Álvar ...

, Portugal; Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, Norway;

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located on the shore of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the most visited art museum in Denmark, and has an extensive permanent collection of modern and cont ...

, Humlebaek, Denmark;

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

, Vienna, Austria; and

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

, San Francisco, California;

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

, Dallas, Texas through 2005). * 2008: ''William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video 1961–2008'',

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

of American Art, New York. Co-organized with

Haus der Kunst The ''Haus der Kunst'' (, ''House of Art'') is a non-collecting modern and contemporary art museum in Munich, Germany. It is located at Prinzregentenstraße 1 at the southern edge of the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park. History N ...

, Munich;

, Washington, D.C.;

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

; and the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 19 ...

. * 2012: ''New Dyes'', Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, California * 2016: ''William Eggleston: Selections from the Wilson Centre for Photography,'' Portland Art Museum, Portland''.'' * 2016: ''William Eggleston Portraits'', National Portrait Gallery, London. * 2017: ''William Eggleston: Los Alamos,'' Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

Awards

* 1974:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

* 1975: Photographer's Fellowship,

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

"William Eggleston." ''Contemporary Photographers''. Detroit:

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ). * 1989: "54 Master Photographers of 1960-1979" Award, Photographic Society of JapanProdger, Phillip (2016).
William Eggleston Portraits
'. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same title at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 21 July to 23 October 2016. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. . p. 175 ("Chronology"). * 1995: Distinguished Achievement Award,

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

* 1998:

Hasselblad Award The Hasselblad Award (in full: Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography) is an award granted to "a photographer recognized for major achievements". History The award—and the Hasselblad Foundation—was set up from the estat ...

Hasselblad Foundation The Hasselblad Foundation (in full: Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation), established in 1979 at the will of Victor Hasselblad, is a fully independent, not-for-profit foundation based at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. The main aim of the Fou ...

, Gothenburg, Sweden * 2003: Special 150th Anniversary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS),

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

, London * 2004: Getty Images Lifetime Achievement Award at the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

(ICP) * 2013: Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, Sony World Photography Awards,

World Photography Organisation The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives and helps artists working in photography broaden the conversation around their work. Established in 2007 by CEO Scott Gray, in the United kingdom it involves peop ...

, London.

Collections

Eggleston's work is held in the following public collections: *

, Chicago, IL *

, Los Angeles, CA *

, New York City *

Pier 24 Photography Pier 24 Photography is a non-profit art museum located on the Port of San Francisco directly under the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. The organization houses the permanent collection of the Pilara Foundation, which collects, preserves and exh ...

, San Francisco *

, San Francisco, CA *

, New York City * International Photography Hall of Fame, St.Louis, MO

Art market

In 2012, three dozen of Eggleston's larger-format prints – instead of the original format of – sold for $5.9 million in an auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

to benefit the Eggleston Artistic Trust, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the artist's work. The top lot, ''Untitled 1970'', set a world auction record for a single print by the photographer at $578,000. New York art collector Jonathan Sobel, subsequently filed a lawsuit in

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

against Eggleston, alleging that the artist's decision to print and sell oversized versions of some of his famous images in an auction has diluted the rarity—and therefore the resale value—of the originals. The court later dismissed the lawsuit.

Notes

References

Sources

* Eggleston, William (1989). ''The Democratic Forest''. Introduction by Eudora Welty. New York: Doubleday. . * Eggleston, William & Morris, William (1990). ''Faulkner's Mississippi''. Birmingham: Oxmoor House. . * Eggleston, William (1992). ''Ancient and Modern''. Introduction by Mark Holborn. New York: Random House. . * Lindgren, Carl Edwin. (1993 Summer). "Ancient and modern". Review of ''Ancient and Modern'' by William Eggleston. Number, Volume 19:20–21. * Lindgren, Carl Edwin. (1993). "Enigmatic presence". Review of ''Ancient and Modern'' by William Eggleston. ''RSA Journal'' (Journal of the Roy. Soc. of Arts), Volume 141 Number 5439, 404. * Woodward, Richard B. (October 1991). "Memphis Beau". ''Vanity Fair''.
Eggleston Trust bio

External links

*
Where World View and World Lines Converge
in '' Fillip'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eggleston, William 1939 births Living people People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Sumner, Mississippi Harvard University staff Photographers from Mississippi Photographers from Tennessee University of Mississippi alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) alumni Fine art photographers 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers Secretly Canadian artists