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Paul Kwilecki photographs and papers, circa 1910s, 1960-2008
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Summary
- Creator:
- Kwilecki, Paul, 1928-2009, Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University), and Vestal, David
- Abstract:
- Collection comprises over 500 black-and-white photographic prints, along with negatives, contact sheets, photographer's notes, journals, writings, speeches, correspondence related to photography, and printed material, totaling over 9000 items. Kwilecki's photographic work documents rural and small-town life in and around Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia, an undertaking he began as a self-taught photographer in 1960 and continued until his death in 2009. Subjects include local landscapes, tobacco workers, county fairs, hog slaughtering, cemeteries, churches, courthouses, recreation on the Flint River, local industry, shoppers, downtowns, and house porches and interiors. The themes of race relations and religious life predominate. Many of Kwilecki's subjects come from the African American community in Decatur County. Significant correspondents in the manuscripts series include photographers Alex Harris and David Vestal; the collection includes a small set of Vestal photographs. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
- Extent:
- 42 Linear Feet (56 boxes; 1 oversize folder)
- Language:
- English
- Collection ID:
- RL.00790
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Paul Kwilecki Photographs and Papers span the whole of his career and include over 500 black-and-white photographic prints, negatives (chiefly safety but also some nitrate and glass plate), contact sheets, photographer's notes, journals, writings, speeches, correspondence related to photography, and other printed material, totaling over approximately 9000 items.
The bulk of the collection consists of Paul Kwilecki's prints and other photographic material documenting rural and small-town life in and around Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia, an undertaking he began as a self-taught photographer in 1960 and continued until his death in 2009. Although Kwilecki developed an interest in photography in the 1940s, only a very small portion of the images in the collection pre-date 1970.
The collection is organized into two major series: Photographic Materials, containing prints, contact sheets, and negatives, and a Manuscripts Series housing many files of correspondence, writings, and other personal papers.
While initially interested in photographing tobacco workers, Kwilecki turned his focus to other subjects, including county fairs, hog slaughtering times, cemeteries, churches, courtrooms, recreation on the Flint River, local industry, bus stations, shoppers, downtowns, house porches and interiors, and landscapes. Many of Kwilecki's subjects come from the African American community in Decatur County. Throughout the collection, the themes of race relations and religious life tend to predominate.
The Manuscripts Series (1967-2008) also provides an interpretation of life in Decatur County but also documents Kwilecki's photographic philosophy and practices. The correspondence and the journals, related to Kwilecki's work and career as a photographer, comprise the largest groupings. The series also contains Kwilecki's personal journals, dating from 1967-1969; Kwilecki's printing notes; news clippings; exhibition brochures; and a brief internet biography of Kwilecki. Many of Kwilecki's writings attempt to express in words the same topics he tried to illuminate through photography.
Additional manuscripts (14 boxes) and photographic materials were received in 2010 following Kwilecki's passing away. They include many folders of correspondence dating from 1971-2008, arranged in original order either chronologically or alphabetically by folder title. Significant correspondents include photographers Alex Harris and David Vestal; the collection also includes a small set of Vestal's photographic prints. Other files contain writings, clippings, and other items. The writings include journals from the 1970s; typed excerpts from early 20th century Georgia newspapers, some on racial incidents; drafts of Kwilecki's talks; and notes for the Decatur County photography publication (one folder). A few publications round out the last box in the collection.
The negatives are closed to use; contact sheets and prints offer alternate access to Kwilecki's images. Eleven nitrate large-format sheet negatives, dating from approximately the 1940s-1960s, are slated for digitization. Also included in the collection are several glass plate negatives by an unknown photographer dating perhaps from the 1910s.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Date Event 1928 Feb. 24 Paul Kwilecki born in Bainbridge, Georgia1948-1949 (?) Photographs published in Life magazine1949 B.A. in English, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia1960 Began making a photographic record of Decatur County, Georgia1975 Sold his hardware business in order to devote all his time to photography1979 Awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship1981 Awarded a Guggenheim FellowshipPublication of Paul Kwilecki's first photography book, Understandings1992 Publication of Lowly Wise: Scenes of Religion In and Around Decatur County1994 Nov. 4-Dec. 21 Exhibit: "Paul Kwilecki: Decatur County, Georgia," Lehigh University1997 Oct.-2000 Oct. Traveling exhibit: "Homage: Photographs of Decatur County, Georgia," offered by the South Carolina State Museum2001 Exhibit: "Decatur County, Georgia," at Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library2009 December 9 Died in Bainbridge, Georgia, age 81Kwilecki's photography is also housed as part of permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, the Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia, the Lyndhurst Foundation, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Albany Museum of Art, Albany, Georgia.
- Acquisition information:
- The Paul Kwilecki photographs and papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase and gift, 1991-2010, 2017.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Paula Jeannet and Josh Kaiser, July 10, 2002.
Accessions represented in this finding aid: All accessions from 1991 to 2010, and 2017-0177.
Additions processed and described by George Lam, July 2010; Paula Jeannet, November 2010 and October 2017; and by Paula Jeannet, Rachel Jensen, and Edward Coles, March 2019.
Description relating to nitrate and glass plate negatives added by Paula Jeannet, 2019-2022
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.
- Subjects:
- African Americans -- Georgia -- Decatur County
Cemeteries -- Georgia -- Pictorial works
Church buildings -- Georgia -- Pictorial works
Courthouses -- Georgia -- Pictorial works
Documentary Photography -- Southern States
Photographers -- Correspondence
Photographers -- Georgia
Photographers -- Southern States
Religious life -- Georgia
Rural African Americans -- Georgia
Tobacco -- Cultivation -- 20th century - Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
Contact prints
Cellulose nitrate film
Contact sheets
Diaries
Gelatin silver prints
Glass plate negatives
Negatives (photographs) - Names:
- Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
Harris, Alex, 1949-
Kwilecki, Paul, 1928-2009
Vestal, David - Places:
- Bainbridge (Ga.) -- Pictorial works
Decatur County (Ga.) -- Pictorial works
Georgia -- Pictorial works
Georgia -- History -- 20th century
Georgia -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
Georgia -- Social conditions -- 20th century
Georgia -- Social life and customs
Contents
Using These Materials
- Using These Materials Links:
-
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
-
Access note. Collection contains fragile audiovisual materials that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.
Access note. Collection contains fragile materials in the form of negatives. Corresponding photographs for some negatives are available in the collection; nitrate negatives and glass plates have been digitized. Contact Research Services for access.
- Terms of access:
-
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Materials in this collection are made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in these materials has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of these materials beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please consult https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions
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- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Paul Kwilecki photographs and papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1h935