William Christenberry

(American, b. 1936)

House, Tuscaloosa County, AL

House, Tuscaloosa County, AL

With the encouragement of noted photographer Walker Evans, William Christenberry began to pursue photography seriously and focus on the landscape of Hale County, Alabama, which he has photographed for more than twenty-five years. Christenberry is devoted to the heritage of the South and, using his training as a sculptor and painter, interprets it in a range of media. This series focusing on a small shack, Kudzu and House, Tuscaloosa County, AL, is a meditation on the passage of time, the ebb and flow of seasons, and the spirit of rural Southern life.

William Christenberry was born in Alabama in 1936. He received his BFA and MA degrees in painting from the University of Alabama and is currently a professor of art at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. Christenberry’s work has received honors and awards, and has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

Southall, Thomas, Walker Evans, and William Christenberry. Of Time & Place:

Walker Evans and William Christenberry. San Francisco: Friends of Photography, 1990.

Stack, Trudy Wilner, William Christenberry, and Allen Tullos. Christenberry Reconstruction: The Art of William Christenberry. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1996.

Belcher, Max, Beverly Buchanan, et al. House and Home: Spirits of the South. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.

Christenberry, William, and Anne Timpano. William Christenberry: Architecture/Archetype: October 5-November 21, 2001, Dorothy W. and C. Lawson Reed, Jr. Gallery. Cincinnati: DAAP Galleries, University of Cincinnati, 2001.

Christenberry, William, and Richard H. Cravens. William Christenberry, Southern Photographs. Millerton, NY: Aperture; Distributed in the U.S. by Viking Penguin, 1983.

Gruber, J. Richard, and William Christenberry. William Christenberry: The Early Years, 1954-1968. Augusta, GA: Morris Museum of Art, 1996.

Livingston, Jane, and William Christenberry. William Christenberry, Color Photographs: December 21, 1978-February 11, 1979, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Washington: The Gallery, 1979.