The J. Paul Getty Museum

Greenwood, Mississippi

Object Details

Title:

Greenwood, Mississippi

Artist/Maker:

William Eggleston (American, born 1939)

Culture:

American

Place:

Greenwood, Mississippi, United States (Place Created)

Date:

1973

Medium:

Dye imbibition print

Object Number:

98.XM.232.4

Dimensions:

35.2 × 55.1 cm (13 7/8 × 21 11/16 in.)

Copyright:

© Eggleston Artistic Trust

Credit Line:

Gift of Caldecot Chubb

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Object Description

"The Red Ceiling" is so powerful that, in fact, I've never seen it reproduced on the page to my satisfaction. When you look at a dye-transfer print it's like it's red blood that is wet on the wall. The photograph was like a Bach exercise for me because I knew that red was the most difficult color to work with. A little red is usually enough, but to work with an entire surface was a challenge. It was hard to do. I don't know of any totally red pictures, except in advertising. The photograph is still powerful. It shocks you every time.

Thus William Eggleston explained the challenge behind the neutral gaze and obvious subject matter of this photograph.

Exhibitions
Exhibitions
William Eggleston and the Color Tradition (October 26, 1999 to January 30, 2000)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), October 26, 1999 to January 30, 2000
Bibliography
Bibliography

William Eggleston and the Color Tradition, exh. brochure (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum), fig. 1.