# Shelby Lee Adams

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American photographer

Shelby Lee Adams Adams in 2010 Born (1950-10-24) October 24, 1950 (age 75) Hazard, Kentucky Alma mater Cleveland Institute of Art, Massachusetts College of Art and Design Known for Photography

**Shelby Lee Adams** (born October 24, 1950)[1] is an American [environmental portrait](/source/Environmental_portrait) [photographer](/source/Photographer) and artist best known for his images of [Appalachian](/source/Appalachia) family life.

## Life and career

Adams has photographed Appalachian families since the mid-1970s.[2] He had first encountered the poor families of the [Appalachian Mountains](/source/Appalachian_Mountains) as a child, travelling around the area with his uncle, who was a doctor.[3] His work has been published in three monographs: *Appalachian Portraits* (1993), *Appalachian Legacy* (1998), and *Appalachian Lives* (2003).

## *The True Meaning of Pictures*

Adams was the subject of a documentary film by [Jennifer Baichwal](/source/Jennifer_Baichwal) in 2002 - *The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams's Appalachia.* This was shown at the [Toronto International Film Festival](/source/Toronto_International_Film_Festival), and at the [Sundance Festival](/source/Sundance_Festival) in 2003.[4][5] The film critiques and defends Adams' method in photographing Appalachian people for his previously published books.

## Awards

- [2010 Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/List_of_Guggenheim_Fellowships_awarded_in_2010)[6]

## Books by Adams

- *Appalachian Portraits.* Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87805-646-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87805-646-7); [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87805-667-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87805-667-X).

- *Appalachian Legacy: Photographs.* Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-57806-048-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57806-048-6); [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-57806-049-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57806-049-4).

- *Appalachian Lives.* Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-57806-540-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57806-540-2).

- *Salt and Truth.* Richmond, Va.: Candela, 2011. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9845739-1-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9845739-1-7).

## Permanent collections

- [Art Institute of Chicago](/source/Art_Institute_of_Chicago), [Chicago](/source/Chicago)[7]

- [Museum of Contemporary Photography](/source/Museum_of_Contemporary_Photography), Chicago[8]

- [International Center of Photography](/source/International_Center_of_Photography), [New York City](/source/New_York_City)[9]

- [Musée de l'Élysée](/source/Mus%C3%A9e_de_l'%C3%89lys%C3%A9e), [Lausanne](/source/Lausanne)[10]

- [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art), New York[9]

- [Fogg Museum](/source/Fogg_Museum), [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts)[9][11]

- [National Gallery of Canada](/source/National_Gallery_of_Canada), [Ottawa](/source/Ottawa)[8]

- [San Francisco Museum of Modern Art](/source/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Art)[12]

- [Smithsonian American Art Museum](/source/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum), [Washington, DC](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.)[9][13]

- [Stedelijk Museum](/source/Stedelijk_Museum), [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam)[8]

- [Time Life Collection](/source/Time_Life), [Rockefeller Center](/source/Rockefeller_Center), New York[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum), [London](/source/London)[14]

- [Whitney Museum of American Art](/source/Whitney_Museum_of_American_Art), New York[9]

- [Middle Tennessee State University](/source/Middle_Tennessee_State_University), [Murfreesboro](/source/Murfreesboro%2C_Tennessee)[15]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Mark_1-0)** Mark, Rebecca & Vaughan, Robert (2004) *The South*, Greenwood Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-313-32734-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-32734-6), p. 60-61

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Foerstner_2-0)** Foerstner, Abigail (1994) "Appalachia observed: Shelby Lee Adams exhibit features portraits out of a living past", *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*, September 25, 1994, p. 18

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MJ_3-0)** "[Vanishing Tribe](https://books.google.com/books?id=8OYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52)", *[Mother Jones](/source/Mother_Jones_(magazine))*, September–October 1991, p. 52-55, retrieved 2010-10-18

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Goddard_4-0)** Goddard, Peter (2002) "Photographer spies on the human drama: Shelby Lee Adams's Appalachian photographs capture undercurrent of pain", *[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)*, August 31, 2002, p. H12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Harvey_5-0)** Harvey, Dennis (2003) "[The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia](https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117919852.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0)", *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*, February 2, 3003, retrieved 2010-10-18

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Shelby Lee Adams"](https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/shelby-lee-adams/). *John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "[*The Home Funeral*, 1990](http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/132811)", catalogue entry, Art Institute of Chicago. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mocp_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mocp_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mocp_8-2) "[Shelby Lee Adams](http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/adams_shelby_lee.php)", Museum of Contemporary Photography. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-icp_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-icp_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-icp_9-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-icp_9-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-icp_9-4) [Shelby Lee Adams](http://emuseum.icp.org/view/people/asitem/items$0040null:1088/0) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120328113036/http://emuseum.icp.org/view/people/asitem/items$0040null:1088/0) 2012-03-28 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), International Center of Photography. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** "[The collection](http://www.elysee.ch/en/collections/)", Musée de l'Élysée. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Catalogue search for "Shelby Lee Adams"](http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collection/search.dot?page=1&fulltext=&artist=Adams%2C+Shelby+Lee) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120323135919/http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collection/search.dot?page=1&fulltext=&artist=Adams,+Shelby+Lee) 2012-03-23 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), Harvard Art Museums. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** "[Works by Shelby Lee Adams](http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artists/2478/artwork)", San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Results of a [search](http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/) of the collection, 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** "[Berthie Napier with Pipe and John](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O147767/photograph-berthie-napier-with-pipe-and/)", catalogue entry, Victoria and Albert Museum. Accessed 3 August 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Photographer Shelby Lee Adams to create MTSU archive of Appalachian images"](https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2016/11/04/photographer-shelby-lee-adams-create-mtsu-archive-appalachian-images/93255292/). *DNJ*. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2019-08-24.

## External links

- [Adams's website](https://shelby-lee-adams.blogspot.com/)

- [*The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334548/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) 2002.

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Netherlands Norway Artists ULAN RKD Artists Museum of Modern Art Photographers' Identities National Gallery of Canada Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shelby Lee Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Lee_Adams) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Lee_Adams?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.