United States, 1954-1985 and undated

Scope and content:

This very large series is divided into bodies of work, as imagined by William Gedney and inspired by his travels. The subseries are in alphabetical order by location: Kentucky, New York (which includes New York City as well as New York State locations), San Francisco. The last subseries, U.S. Trips, encompasses travel to Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, and other states. Southern California images are also found here rather than in the San Francisco subseries.

Because the large prints are separated into their own bodies of work, it is easy to forget that Gedney was working on simultaneous projects as he traveled across the United States. To get a better sense of the flow of his activity, it is helpful to view the contact sheets, which offer all the images taken in a particular timespan or location regardless of series. Thus, for example, one can see visits to California composers interspersed with city street scenes and night images.

Prints in the United States Series are arranged in rough chronological order within their subseries.

Contents

Using These Materials