“Debutante and Her Maids” by Laura Wilson, via Amon Carter Museum
Laura Wilson has three famous sons: Andrew, Luke and Owen. But she’d be intriguing even if they weren’t in the picture. The Preston Hollow resident began her career as a photographer decades ago, by assisting Richard Avedon with his iconic “In the American West” series. Since then, her photos have appeared in a variety of impressive publications, including The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The New York Times Magazine.
On September 5, Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum will unveil a 71-piece exhibit of her work. “Laura Wilson: That Day” is primarily composed of portraits. All subjects were photographed in the American West, but they’re incredibly diverse – some are debutantes, others are ranchers, a few are American Indians, the list goes on.
“I am drawn to people who live in an enclosed world—those people who live in isolated communities, whether by circumstance or accomplishment; I am curious and always want to know more,” Wilson says.
“I don’t mean to say one way of life is better than another but merely to say that my wish, as Eudora Welty wrote, ‘would be not to point a finger in judgment but to part a curtain, that invisible shadow that falls between people, the veil of indifference to each other’s presence, each other’s wonder, each other’s human plight.’”
The exhibit runs through February 14. Admission is free.
Photos by Laura Wilson courtesy of Amon Carter Museum:
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- “Trick Rider”
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- “Young Woman with Child”
