SignedSigned on mount recto, lower right, in black pen: "Clarence John Laughlin"
InscribedOn mount recto, lower left, in black pen: "The Final Act: 1952";
On mount verso, upper left, stamped in black ink with black pen: "Print No 201 / Photograph Copyrighted by / C.J. LAUGHLIN / 1973 / All Reproduction Rights Reserved / Print made by / C.J.L on 7/6/81";
On mount verso, center, in black pen: "The Final Act (m-36) / Intimation of Piranesi (Belle Grove).
MarkingsOn mount recto, lower right, in pencil: "RMG 1184.5";
On mount verso, center right, in black pen: "7076 / B#687 / 7/6/81 / #2 [circled] ?";
On mount verso, lower left corner, in pencil: "12/86";
On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "RMG#1184.5".
DescriptionImage of a large stone building in ruins with tall pillars surrounding it and moss covered trees along the left edge and foreground.Gallery Label
The
mystery of light and the enigma of time form the twin pivots around which all
my work revolves.
—Clarence
John Laughlin
The
day after a fire engulfed the mansion of the Belle Grove Plantation in
Louisiana, Clarence John Laughlin photographed its burned ruins. His picture of
the damaged structure alludes to the end of the plantation’s long, tragic
history. Built in the 1850s, the mansion was celebrated for its architectural
grandeur, though the plantation owner enslaved more than 100 individuals at the
time.
Throughout
his life, Laughlin read voraciously. This love of literature heavily influenced
his photographs of decaying Southern plantations and landscapes. His
photographs often straddle reality and imagination, documenting historic places
while simultaneously evoking a mystical world.
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is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
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