WILLIAM CHRISTENBERRY | 'William Christenberry: 15 Alabama Photographs'

(Self-published: 1973, a total edition of 5), a portfolio of 15 chromogenic prints, each matted, signed in pencil on the mat, a typed label on the reverse, 1964-72; together with typed colophon, signed and dated in ink. Felt-lined wooden case with plastic handle and engraved brass plaque

Acquired from the photographer, circa 1973

The condition of these 15 early chromogenic prints, made with a Brownie Holiday camera, ranges from generally good to excellent. As is typical of commercially developed prints from this period, there are occasional matte areas, fingerprints (mostly in the margins), and shallow linear hairline scratches that are visible only in raking light. Several of the prints appear to have shifted slightly in tonality towards pink, and a few appear faintly faded overall. Each print is hinged to its mat with tape along the upper margin. The plates are as follows: House on Mill's Hill, Near Moundville, Ala., 1972; House Outside Marion, Ala., 1964; Church, Havana, Ala., 1964; Coleman's Cafe, Greensboro, Ala., 1971; 31c Gasoline Sign, Near Greensboro, Ala., 1964; Door with Royal Crown Sign, Near Uniontown, Ala., 1972; Detail of Wall with Coca-Cola sign, Marion, Ala., 1971; Orange Door of a Country Store Near Aliceville, Ala., 1972; Side of Country Store with Palmist Sign in Window, Havana, Ala., 1971; Wall of Building, Marion, Ala., 1964; Stewart, Ala., 1964; Detail of Coleman's Cafe, Greensboro, Ala., 1971 (the front of this mat is soiled); Door of House at Christmas Time, Greensboro, Ala., 1971; Grave with Bed as Grave Marker - Near Faunsdale, Alabama, 1967; Church, Sprott, Ala., 1971 The typed colophon is typed is dry-mounted to thin board, which is slightly soiled. The wooden portfolio case is in generally excellent condition.
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William Christenberry and his sister received a Brownie camera for Christmas when they were children. In the early stages of his artistic career, he used the small, store-developed snapshots as references for his paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Initially influenced by the Abstract-Expressionists, Christenberry soon moved away from that style, finding stimulus in Pop art with its use of advertisements, commercial elements, and nods to everyday American life; these, specifically as they related to the American South, became mainstays in his work. During a brief stint in New York City in the 1960s, Christenberry met Walker Evans whose images of Alabama in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men had already strongly influenced the young artist. Evans’ influence on Christenberry persisted not just in his unflagging documentation of the South, but also in the straightforward angles and the simple but careful composition of each shot.

 Although Christenberry left his native Alabama in 1961 and eventually settled in Washington, D. C., he continued to visit his beloved home state yearly with his family, documenting the passage of time on the stores, houses, and buildings of his youth. Side of Country Store with Palmist Sign in Window, Havana, Ala., 1971, included in the present portfolio, makes several appearances in his photographic oeuvre. The building was once a country store run by his great uncle, Sidney Duncan.  In the late 1950s or early 1960s, gypsies rented the building to tell fortunes. They eventually skipped town, leaving the destroyed building behind.  The owner used their old palm reading sign in the window to keep the rain out. Christenberry returned almost annually to photograph it until the early 1980s when the building collapsed. Door of House at Christmas Time, Greensboro, Ala., 1971, is also typical Christenberry.  The photograph shows a home with Christmas lights aglow.  The homeowner, when asked if Christenberry could photograph the house, agreed, proudly turning on the lights.  Christenberry came back the next year, but the house was gone without a trace.

‘15 Alabama Photographs’ contains these and many more images of Christenberry’s most iconic architectural subjects in their earliest iterations. This portfolio was published in a limited edition of 5 in 1973, the same year as the first major exhibition of his Brownie images at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.  At the time of this writing, it is believed that no other set has appeared at auction.  Another complete portfolio remains in the collection of the Christenberry studio.