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311:. Confronted at the door by a glaring masked figure, Christenberry fled. Although he destroyed his first two Klan paintings, the subject occupied him for many years, resulting in a dense multi-medium construction adjacent to his studio that came to be known as the "Klan Room," which was burgled mysteriously in 1979. Christenberry largely reconstructed the room, which is filled with paintings, found objects, drawings, sculptures, dioramas, and a series of fabric dolls of Klansmen in their hooded robes.
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state of decay and patina. Although detailed and properly proportioned, Christenberry did not refer to these creations as models, as he says they are not based on precise measurements, and he preferred that they be called sculptures. The bases for these sculptures often are set in soil taken from these places. On many of these trips, Christenberry collected old advertising signs and other found objects which inspired him. Some of these are incorporated into his work, while others hung in his studio.
223:, the oldest of three children. His father tried to attend college but found it too expensive and spent his life working as a delivery man for a bakery and a salesman of dairy and insurance. His mother, Ruby Willard Smith, was a tax assessor and homemaker; she also created textiles which went on to become family heirlooms. Christenberry's grandparents on both sides operated farms in Hale County, which was where his childhood summers were spent. In 1944, Christenberry and his sister received a
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259:", which brought inspiration to the work Christenberry was already completing – namely his direct-address photographs of Hale County which he had started taking in 1958 with his Brownie camera (from 1944). During his time at the University of Alabama, Christenberry's teacher Melville Price, encouraged him to leave Alabama, at least for a time, to find a wider vision of the world. Thus, in 1961, he moved to New York.
203:. Christenberry focused extensively on architecture, abandoned structures, nature, and extensively studied the psychology and effects of place and memory. He is best known for his haunting compositions of landscapes, signs, and abandoned buildings in his home state. Christenberry is also considered a pioneer of colored photography as an art form; he was especially encouraged in the medium by the likes of
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Brownie camera given to him as a child, while he would later move on to a large format view camera to capture more detail, he continued to use the
Brownie throughout his career. On one occasion in 1973, Walker Evans, who had encouraged Christenberry to take his photographs seriously, accompanied him.
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Christenberry only stayed in New York for fourteen months before he took a job teaching in
Memphis. During his time in New York City, Christenberry produced very little art, but upon his move to Memphis his creativity took off. In his early years in Memphis, Christenberry painted large, two yards, by
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One of the results of this pilgrimage was a series of photographs documenting the decay of individual structures, which are photographed as nearly isolated objects. In 1974, Christenberry began translating some of these photographed buildings into detailed sculptures that accurately reproduce their
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His artistic career began with painting – specifically large, abstract-expressionist canvasses, but his focus and inspiration shifted to the place and memories of his childhood. After receiving his degrees
Christenberry stayed at the University of Alabama for a few years as a teacher and in 1961 he
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four yards paintings, "Fruit Stand" (1963), "Beale Street" (1964), and "Klavern 93" (1964). Then, in 1965 he met Sandy Deane, who would go on to be his wife in 1967; early in their relationship they became and remained close friends with
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Shortly after beginning a professorship at
Corcoran College, Christenberry began making annual visits to Hale County during the summer to visit family, explore and take photographs. Originally these all were made with the
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Though known more as a photographer and multi-medium artist than as a painter, Christenberry taught painting. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows around the world and is the subject of several monographs.
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199:(November 5, 1936 – November 28, 2016) was an American photographer, painter, sculptor, and teacher who drew inspiration from his childhood in
576:– A review of the University of Virginia Art Museum's exhibit "Southern Views/Southern Photographers," which includes work by Christenberry.
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as a joint
Christmas gift, a gift which would remain important throughout his career. He studied painting and sculpture at the
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and his wife. In 1968, the
Christenberrys moved to Washington, D.C., so William could take a teaching position at the
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in 2011. Christenberry died in
Washington, D.C., on November 28, 2016, from complications of the disease. He was 80.
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and his studies under
Melville Price, but later found himself more attracted to the type of realism attributed to
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Another series of works was provoked by an incident when, out of curiosity, he tried to attend a meeting of the
541:– A film documenting Christenberry's Klan Tableau in Washington, D.C. Includes an interview with Christenberry.
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in
Tuscaloosa and earned his B.F.A. in 1958 and an M.F.A. in 1959. Christenberry was originally influenced by
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393:"William Christenberry, artist of a crumbling, memory-haunted South, dies at 80"
574:"Wounds, Vines, Scratches, and Names: Signs of Return in Southern Photography"
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422:"William Christenberry's Kodak Brownie snapshots capture reality of South"
507:"William Christenberry" Susanne Lange, (Düsseldorf: Richter Verlag, 2002)
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461:"After a lifetime of capturing what was, Christenberry faces what is"
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363:"William A. Christenberry, Photographer of Rural South, Dies at 80"
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This was Evans's first and only return to Hale County since 1936.
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William Andrew
Christenberry Jr. was born on November 5, 1936, in
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Of Time and Place: Walker Evans and William Christenberry.
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Christenberry, William, and Susanne Lange (ed.) (2008).
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Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Washington, D.C.
504:(Foreword), Howard N. Fox (Editor) (Aperture, 2006)
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517:Evans, Walker, and William Christenberry (1990).
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594:"Place, Time, and Memory: William Christenberry"
568:Audio commentary by Christenberry, December 2006
645:Corcoran School of the Arts and Design faculty
545:Christenberry page at the Alabama Arts Council
532:William Christenberry papers, circa 1917-2018
338:Christenberry, William (September 28, 2007).
584:"William Christenberry: Working From Memory"
512:William Christenberry: Working From Memory.
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500:, Andy Grundberg, William Christenberry,
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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521:Carmel, CA: Friends of Photography.
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680:21st-century American male artists
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190:Photographer, Painter, sculptor
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605:Sprott Church, Sprott, Alabama
459:Tucker, Neely (June 5, 2015).
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341:Place, Time, and Memory.
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562:"William Christenberry"
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564:, Pace/MacGill Gallery
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233:Abstract expressionism
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229:University of Alabama
139:Christenberry in 2012
127:William Christenberry
16:American photographer
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201:Hale County, Alabama
45:improve this article
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465:The Washington Post
426:The Washington Post
316:Alzheimer's disease
241:Robert Rauschenberg
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176:(2016-11-28)
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43:Please help
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630:2016 deaths
625:1936 births
101:August 2018
619:Categories
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295:(1987) at
293:Akron Wall
249:James Agee
215:Early life
155:1936-11-05
71:newspapers
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473:0190-8286
439:March 26,
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255:' book, "
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