ticketsMember | Make a donation

Huntsville, Alabama

ca. 1970
Not on view
One of the first photographers whose images in color were accepted as successful works of art, Eggleston made his debut in 1976 at the Museum of Modern Art with the exhibition William Eggleston's Guide. In the catalogue for the exhibition, curator John Szarkowski wrote: "Eggleston … shows us pictures of aunts and cousins and friends, of houses in the neighborhood and in neighboring neighborhoods, of local streets and side roads, local strangers, odd souvenirs, all of this appearing not at all as it might in a social document, but as it might in a diary, where the important meanings would be not public and general but private and esoteric." Because Eggleston shows us the in-between moments of life in tones that are almost too true-to-life, his work makes us look anew at our lives in the present tense. In photographs like this one, with its charmingly outdated details, our sense of place in the world is heightened by an unnerving familiarity with this unknown visitor in a dank and cheerless hotel room. It is our own intimate knowledge of similar situations, as well as the solid masses of nondescript, lifeless colors-hues with that well-worn feeling of irrelevant memories-that charms the picture and lodges it permanently in the mind's eye.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Huntsville, Alabama
  • Artist: William Eggleston (American, born Memphis, Tennessee, 1939)
  • Date: ca. 1970
  • Medium: Dye transfer print
  • Dimensions: Image: 18 5/16 × 12 3/4 in. (46.5 × 32.4 cm)
    Sheet: 19 3/16 × 15 15/16 in. (48.7 × 40.5 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jeffrey Fraenkel and Frish Brandt, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.1271
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Eggleston Artistic Trust
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Untitled (Young Man Entering Diner, Memphis, Tennessee)
William Eggleston
1968
14 Pictures, William Eggleston American, Ink on paper
14 Pictures
William Eggleston
Harry H. Lunn Jr.
1974
Troubled Waters, William Eggleston American, Dye transfer prints
Troubled Waters
William Eggleston
1980
Untitled (Sumner, Mississippi, Cassidy Bayou in Background), William Eggleston American, Dye transfer print
Untitled (Sumner, Mississippi, Cassidy Bayou in Background)
William Eggleston
1971, printed 1999
Untitled (Memphis), William Eggleston American, Dye transfer print
Untitled (Memphis)
William Eggleston
ca. 1972, printed 1986

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.