William Eggleston
- Born:
- July 27, 1939, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Photographer
Early Life and Education
- Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Sumner, Mississippi.
- Attended Vanderbilt University, Delta State College, and the University of Mississippi but did not graduate.
- Developed an interest in photography in the late 1950s, initially working in black and white.
- Influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson's The Decisive Moment.
Career and Major Achievements
- Began experimenting with color photography in the mid-1960s.
- Received a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1973.
- His 1976 solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, curated by John Szarkowski, was groundbreaking and controversial for its presentation of color photography as fine art.
- Pioneered the use of dye-transfer printing for photographic art.
- Continued to exhibit and publish his work internationally.
Notable Works
- William Eggleston's Guide (1976), published in conjunction with the MoMA exhibition.
- Election Eve (1976-1977).
- Los Alamos (2003), a multi-volume collection of photographs taken between 1966 and 1974.
- Chromes (2011).
Legacy and Impact
William Eggleston's contribution to photography lies in his elevation of everyday subjects to art through the use of color. His work challenged prevailing notions of what constituted suitable subject matter for fine art photography and significantly influenced subsequent generations of photographers.