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Palmist Building (Winter), Havana Junction, Alabama
Palmist Building (Winter), Havana Junction, Alabama

Palmist Building (Winter), Havana Junction, Alabama

Artist William Christenberry (American, 1936 - 2016)
Date1981; printed 2007
MediumInkjet print
DimensionsImage: 4 × 5 inches (10.16 × 12.7 cm)
Sheet: 8 × 10 inches (20.32 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2016.75.42
Signednone
Inscribednone
Markingsnone
Edition/State/Proofed. 2/9
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • L10
Collections
DescriptionImage of a wooden structure with trees and a dirt road in front of it. There is a door on the right and two windows; in one window there is an image of a hand painted red.Gallery Label

I was always attracted by the warped shapes of rustic, smaller buildings and houses —the way they have been molded, altered by time. —William Christenberry

This image features a small, run-down building that was once a general store belonging to the photographer’s great-uncle before becoming the home of a palm reader. It was taken as part of a set of photographs showing different vantage points over the course of eight years. When viewed collectively, these images highlight the effects of time as nature slowly overtakes the deteriorating structure.

Born and raised in rural Alabama, William Christenberry found lifelong inspiration in the Southern landscapes and structures of his childhood. After moving away, he continued making regular visits to this area to repeatedly photograph the same subjects.

Provenance
The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2016;   
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2016.
Copyright© The Estate of William Christenberry, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York
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Palmist Building (Summer), Havana, Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1980; printed 2007
2016.75.38
Site of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1988; printed 2007
2016.75.52
Rear of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1980; printed 2007
2016.75.39
South End of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1987; printed 2007
2016.75.51
South End of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1981; printed 2007
2016.75.43
Windows of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1981; printed 2007
2016.75.44
Side of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1971; printed 2007
2016.75.35
South End of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1973; printed 2007
2016.75.36
South End of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1979; printed 2007
2016.75.37
Side of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1961; printed 2007
2016.75.33
Rear Door of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1980; printed 2007
2016.75.40
South End of Palmist Building, Havana Junction, Alabama
William Christenberry
1984; printed 2007
2016.75.47