Ulrich acquires Parks photographs
The works of artist Gordon Parks are returning to WSU, this time, permanently. The Endowment Association has acquired four of Parks - photographs for the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art.
The photographs selected by the Endowment Association's art committee are "Negro Woman in Her Bedroom, Washington Southwest Section" (1942), "Uncle James Parks, Fort Scott" (1949), "Department Stores, Birmingham, Alabama" (1956), and "At the Poerty Board: Bessie and Kenneth, Little Richard, Norman, Jr. and Ellen" (1967).
"Negro Woman in Her Bedroom" was from Parks - fellowship with the Farm Securities Administration historical section. Almost all his photographs from this period deal with the lives of African Americans in Washington, D.C.
"Uncle James Parks" is a portrait of Parks - blind uncle. James Parks served as the basis for the blind uncle in Parks - book "The Learning Tree," which was made into a movie.
"Department Stores" depicts two members of the Causey family with whom Parks did a photo essay for Life magazine in which he examined the effects of segregation in the South.
"At the Poverty Board" was Parks - last essay shoot for Life magazine, which looked at inner-city poverty using the Fontenelle family as its focus.
"The Ulrich Museum has a promising collection of 20th century photojournalism, particularly in the work of W. Eugene Smith and Sheldon Machlin," said Mark White, curator of exhibitions. "This acquisition is timely, not only because Parks is a Kansas native, but also because his reputation as a photographer and photojournalist is exceptional, especially in light of the recent retrospective 'Half-Past Autumn.'"
"Half-Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks" was on exhibition at the Ulrich Museum last year, May 23-Aug. 8, and drew the most impressive crowds in the museum’s 25-year history.
The public can view Parks' photographs now. Parks was to be at an Ulrich Museum Alliance members-only reception April 11.
