The High Present its Rarest, Most Valuable Photographs in The Bunnen Collection

“The Bunnen Collection” is curated by High Museum of Art Curator of Photography Brett Abbott and will feature more than 125 prints, including works by Bunnen herself. The exhibition will highlight the aesthetic relationship between Bunnen’s work and the photographs she collected, as well as showcase works by local photographers with those by nationally and internationally renowned artists.

A long-time Atlanta resident, Bunnen began taking and collecting pictures passionately in 1970. Later that decade, she started collecting world-class photographs with the intention of donating the works to the High, helping establish the Museum as one of the nation’s premiere collecting institutions for contemporary photography.

Beginning with a purchase of 26 photographs by renowned Southern photographer Clarence John Laughlin, Bunnen’s collecting focused on new works by living photographers of the day, highlighting prominent international artists alongside those celebrated regionally. The collection was unveiled at the High in 1983 in a project titled “Subjective Vision.” Since then, Bunnen has continued to support the growth of the High’s photography collection in significant ways. Altogether, she has been involved in the addition of more than 650 prints to the collection over the past 32 years. 

“Today, the High’s photography collection is the Museum’s largest and fastest growing division,” said Abbott. ”This amazing growth would not have been possible without the support of Lucinda Bunnen. We are honored to share the works in this collection with Atlanta and to celebrate Lucinda’s invaluable contributions to the High and to the city’s arts community as a whole.”

In addition to photographs by Bunnen, including “Man in a Wall Window, New York City” (1970-1975), other key works in the exhibition will include:

·         Ansel Adams, “Pipes and Gauges,” 1939

·         Bill Brandt, “Deserted Street in Bloomsbury,” 1941

·         Oraien Catledge, “Untitled,” n.d. (portrait of a Cabbagetown family)

·         Chuck Close, “Self-Portrait (3 Parts),” 1980

·         William Eggleston, “Untitled (Freezer),” ca. 1971-1973, printed 1980

·         Nan Goldin, “Cookie Laughing, NYC,” 1985

·         Clarence John Laughlin, “The Improbable Dome: 1964,” printed 1979

·         Sally Mann, “Jessie Bites,” 1985, printed 1995

·         Lisette Model, “New York,” ca. 1951

·         Nicholas Nixon, “The Brown Sisters,” 1975-2012

·         Robert Rauschenberg, “Untitled, from the Bleacher series,” 1989

·         Cindy Sherman, “Untitled, from the Untitled Film Stills series,” 1979, printed 1989

·         Joel Sternfeld, “Exhausted Renegade Elephant, Woodburn, Washington,” June 1979