ASIAN ART

Eudora Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1909. As a junior publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration during the 1930's, Eudora Welty traveled throughout Mississippi. In her spare time, she would photograph and document the lives of the people she met. The sensitivity Welty is so famous for in her literature is matched by her keen photographer’s eye. Her celebrated photographs from this period capture the essence of life in a bygone era.

Collections of Eudora Welty’s silver gelatin photographs have been printed in two books: “One Time, One Place” and “Photographs.” The photographs show a profound respect for the dignity of each of the subjects; rich and poor, black and white, children and oldsters. During Eudora Welty’s lifetime she produced two portfolios of original silver gelatin prints: “Twenty Photographs” in 1980 and “The Eudora Welty Portfolio” in 1992. The portfolio of original silver gelatin prints “Twenty Photographs” was released as a limited edition set of 75. Only twenty sets were signed by Welty. In 1997, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History published a set of five photographs entitled “Home Places” to benefit the Eudora Welty House in Jackson Mississippi, which is now a museum and National Historic Landmark.