|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2008
Contact:
, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7379
Fax: (512) 974-7379
Austin Americana: The Neal Douglass Photography Exhibit
Austin History Center of the Austin Public Library
August 20, 2008 – January 20, 2009
The Austin History Center will open a new exhibit on August 20 called “Austin Americana: The Neal Douglass Photography Collection.” This exhibit will explore the life and career of photojournalist Neal Douglass, the first staff photographer for the Austin Statesman.
 Neal Douglass was born on April 14, 1900, in Snyder, Texas. From an early age, Neal was exposed to the journalism world as his family owned and operated the Roaring Springs Echo. At the age of 19, Neal began his own career in journalism, serving as a writer and editor for the Lubbock Avalanche, San Angelo Standard, Texarkana Press, McAllen Monitor, before ending up at the Austin Statesman in 1934. A year later, the Statesman sent Douglass to a 6-week crash course in photography at the University of Texas and asked him to head up their new photography department.
For almost 20 years, Neal ran the photography department for the Statesman, capturing the visual history of Austin in the 1930s through the 1950s. He also had an arrangement with the newspaper to run his own studio business using the Statesman darkroom. His client list read as a “Who’s Who” of Austin and Texas politics and included Senator Ralph Yarbrough, Governors James Allred, Beauford Jester, and Allan Shivers. In 1954, he left the paper to open his own studio, Neal Douglass Photos, until he retired in 1962. He passed away on November 25, 1983.
Neal donated part of his collection to the Austin History Center in 1974, supplemented by additional donations by his wife, Pat Douglass, and his daughter, Connie Vanzura. The collection comprises over 55,000 photographic negatives, mostly 4X5, depicting Austin from the 1930s into the 1960s. Weddings, from governors to the couple down the street, portraiture, sports, religion, aerial photography, business, politics, and everyday life – all can be found in Neal’s work. The collection is still being processed by staff and volunteers, though a sleeve level inventory is complete. Also, many of the images are scanned and available through the Portal to Texas History website at: http://texashistory.unt.edu/browse/collection/NDPC/
“Austin Americana” explores themes such as kids, bathing suits, race & gender, politics, civic life, music, and celebrities, all seen through the lens of Douglass’s camera. Also, in keeping with the city’s unofficial motto, “Keep Austin Weird,” the exhibit also illustrates the quirky side of Austin. A look at Neal’s life and the practice of photojournalism from the 1930s through the 1950s rounds out the exhibit. “Austin Americana” will be on display in the Grand Hallway and Grand Lobby of the Austin History Center from August 20, 2008 through January 20, 2009.
On Saturday, September 20, at 2:00 pm, the Austin History Center will host a reception for the exhibit. Special guest speakers for the reception are Brian Loflin, an Austin area free lance photographer who specializes in sports, aviation, and natural sciences photography (see his website at: http://loflin-images.com/Index.html), and Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon, a photographer for the Austin American Statesman. Brian will be speaking about the history of photojournalism and the types of equipment Neal Douglass would have used and Jorge will be speaking about current practices in photojournalism. Light refreshments will be served, and the event is free.
About the Austin History Center
As the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events, and activities of Austin and Travis County. The Austin History Center collects and preserves information about local governments, businesses, residents, institutions, and neighborhoods so that generations to come will have access to our history. The Austin History Center is located at 810 Guadalupe Street, on the southwest corner of Guadalupe and 9th Streets in downtown Austin. The Austin History is open to the public Mon-Wed: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun: 12 noon -6 p.m. (except holidays). For additional information visit www.cityofaustin.org/library or call (512) 974-7400.
###
|
