Born in Illinois a century ago this year, the photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard found his calling in Lexington, Kentucky, where he began to develop a distinctive style: staged scenes with a hint of southern gothic and a strong flavour of the absurd. Taking his shots amid the dilapidated suburban homes, gardens and streets of his adopted city, Meatyard often used family members as models and got them to wear masks or pose with dolls to make otherwise wholesome set-ups seem unsettling. This exhibition includes rare prints of the 36 photographs Meatyard included in the book he edited as he was dying of cancer in 1970, which he regarded as his definitive artistic statement, as well as his portraits of artists and writers including Wendell Berry, Thomas Merton and Guy Davenport (12 December–10 May 2026).
Find out more from the High Museum’s website.
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