Overview: One of the most influential American photographers of our time, William Eggleston has defined the history of color photography. This exhibition is the artist's first retrospective in the United States and presents a comprehensive selection from nearly 50 years of image making. It brings together Eggleston's famous and lesser-known works, particularly his black-and-white images from the late 1950s and 1960s, which helped shape his color photography. Also showcased will be Eggleston’s provocative video recording of 1970s Memphis nightlife, Stranded in Canton, which influenced his later work. Internationally acclaimed, Eggleston has spent the past four decades making photographs that convey intuitive responses to fleeting configurations of cultural signs and moods as specific expressions of local color. Psychologically complex and casually refined, bordering on kitsch and never conventionally beautiful, these photographs speak principally to the expanse of Eggleston's imagination and have had a pervasive influence on all aspects of visual culture.

William Eggleston. Untitled from Los Alamos, 1965.

Organizer: This exhibition is organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in association with Haus der Kunst, Munich.

Sponsor: Generous support is provided by The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Inc., Norman and Melissa Selby, The John and Annamaria Phillips Foundation, Marcia Dunn and Jonathan Sobel, Diane and Tom Tuft, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Stephen C. and Katherine D. Sherrill Foundation, Lauren and Louis DePalo, the William Talbott Hillman Foundation, and The Gage Fund.