Yale will pay homage to the great photographer Walker Evans in a series of exhibitions and discussions led by contemporaries who knew him personally and worked with him professionally.
From November 5 through November 13, the Yale School of Art — where Evans taught from 1964 to 1974 — will host an exhibition in the Green Hall Gallery, 1156 Chapel Street, of digital prints made from Evans’ original material. The exhibition will highlight work of Evans’ most productive years, 1935-38, including images from “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” the legendary volume documenting the American Depression that Evans co-authored with James Agee. The prints for the exhibition were produced by two of the Evans’ friends and professional colleagues, Sven Martson, who printed under Evans’ supervision, and John T. Hill, the executor of his estate. A reception for the opening of the exhibition will take place on November 5, 5-7 p.m. in the Gallery.
Another exhibition of Walker’s work, selections from the Yale Art Gallery and private collections, will be on view at the Master’s House of Jonathan Edwards College, 70 High Street, November 6-23. An opening reception for that exhibition will take place on November 6, 5-7 p.m.
November 6 is also the date of the first of three Masters Teas at Jonathan Edwards College in honor of Evans. Richard Benson, the dean of Yale University School of Art, and Jerry L. Thompson, photographer, writer and Evans biographer, will talk about the photographer’s “process and wit.”
On November 11, Alan Trachtenberg, professor emeritus of American Studies and English Literature, and Hill will give a talk titled “Books and Translations,” putting Evans’ work as a photographer into a historical and cultural context.
In the final Master’s Tea in the series, November 20, John Szarkowksi, director emeritus of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, will give a talk offering his personal recollections of his friend.
All the Teas take place in the Master’s house at 4 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public on most Thursdays or by appointment. For more information, call 203-432-0356.
