''The Red Ceiling'' is a photograph by
William Eggleston
William Eggleston, (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition of color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The ...
. Its formal title is ''Greenwood, Mississippi''. Eggleston took the photo at the home of his friend Dr. Thomas Chester Boring, Jr., at 508 Macarthur St. in
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the rive ...
.
Process
The photograph is a
dye transfer print measuring . Eggleston considers it among his most challenging and powerful works, "so powerful that, in fact, I've never seen it reproduced on the page to my satisfaction".
[J. Paul Getty Museum]
Greenwood, Mississippi.
Retrieved September 6, 2008.
Reception and legacy
A copy of the photograph is held by the
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...
, but is currently not on view at the
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, garde ...
.
[ Another copy is held by the ]Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
.
It has been described as Eggleston's "most famous photograph," with "some indefinable sense of menace".[O'Hagan, Sean]
Out of the ordinary.
''The Observer'', July 25, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2008. It is widely recognised as the album cover for the record '' Radio City'' (1974) by the Memphis band Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...
.
References
Bibliography
Jane Flower
The True Legacy of Dr Tom Boring, An Unsolved Murder Mystery Biography, published June 18, 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Ceiling, The
Color photographs
1973 works
1973 in art
Photographs of the United States
1970s photographs