This exhibit features the work of early African American photographers in Memphis, James P. Newton and Robert and Henry Hooks, better known as the Hooks Bros. Together, their artistic work documents a rare portrait of Memphis history; the emergence of a small African American elite during the turn of the century, and the growth of the African American middle class during the pre-Civil Rights era. The images produced by James P. Newton may be the earliest extant photographs created by any person of color in Memphis. The digital prints from the 1940s and 1950s, scanned from negatives by Jason Miller, graduate student in photography, beautifully expose the high level of quality work and aesthetics associated with the sons, Charles and Henry Hooks, considered among the best studio photographers in Memphis. Also displayed are visual documents from an important historical collection, the Church Family Papers, which contained some of the earliest photographs produced by Newton, and Robert and Henry Hooks.

Exhibition Information:

Jones Hall Gallery

October 3 - October 23, 2008

Opening Reception:

Friday October 3, 2008

5:00 - 7:00 P.M.