Sweet Home Alabama

Today we salute Alabama, which became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, and one of her native sons, artist William Christenberry.

The iconography of William Christenberry's images draws on the landscape and vernacular architecture of his native Alabama. For years Christenberry has returned to this area to photograph and rephotograph specific sites in the countryside, recording the changes and the manner in which the southern landscape so quickly reclaims untended buildings.

Church, Sprott, Alabama, one of the artist's earlier photographs, was taken with a simple Brownie camera. This instrument produces the soft focus, sharp color, and dreamlike images that earned the admiration of photographer Walker Evans.

Christenberry initially made photographs to provide ideas for his paintings. This photograph and others evolved from photographic studies into works of art in their own right.

Source: National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996).

Pictured: William Christenberry, born 1936, Church, Sprott, Alabama, 1971, printed 1981, dye transfer print, 3 3/16 x 4 15/16 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist.