World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Sally Mann

サリー・マン

Sally Mann

Aliases: Sally Turner Munger

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1951-05-01 （Lexington, Virginia, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Lexington, Virginia

Career

Occupations
Photographer, Author
Active Years
1970-
Influenced By
Cy Twombly, Family and caregivers (Gee-Gee / Virginia Carter)

Education

The Putney School
Period: 〜1969
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
One of the places where she began photography
Bennington College
Country: United States
Attended for a period
Friends World College
Country: United States
Attended for a period
Hollins College (Hollins University)
Creative Writing
Degree: BA (summa cum laude), MA
Period: 1970s〜1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: United States
BA (summa cum laude) in 1974 and MA in creative writing in 1975

Awards

Individual Artist Fellowship (National Endowment for the Arts)
1982
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Individual Artist Fellowship (National Endowment for the Arts)
1988
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Individual Artist Fellowship (National Endowment for the Arts)
1992
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1987
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
2006
Organization: Corcoran College of Art and Design
Result: 授与
Honorary Fellowship (Royal Photographic Society)
2012
Organization: Royal Photographic Society
Result: 授与
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
2016
Work: Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs
Organization: American Library Association (sponsored)
Result: 受賞
Centenary Medal (Royal Photographic Society)
2020
Organization: Royal Photographic Society
Result: 受賞
Induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame
2021
Organization: International Photography Hall of Fame
Result: 受賞・殿堂入り
Prix Pictet
2021
Organization: Prix Pictet
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Second Sight: The Photographs of Sally Mann

1983 Photography book

A collection of early works, including images from her Corcoran exhibition.

Early experimentsLandscape

At Twelve: Portraits of Young Women

1988 Photography book

A portrait collection of girls around twelve, capturing the complex emotions of adolescence; received both acclaim and controversy.

AdolescenceIdentity

Immediate Family

1992 Photography book

A body of work centered on her family, notably her children; its naturalistic nudes provoked substantial controversy.

FamilyMotherhoodPublic vs. private

Still Time

1994 Photography book / Exhibition catalogue

A catalogue-like collection spanning over 20 years, including family photographs and landscapes.

RetrospectTime

What Remains

2003 Photography book

Works addressing the body and death: decomposing remains, battlefield studies, and close-up faces of her children.

DeathBodyMemory

Deep South

2005 Photography book

Landscapes of the American South shot using collodion and other processes: battlefields, decaying mansions, and kudzu-shrouded scenes.

The SouthHistoryMemory

Proud Flesh

2009 Photography book

A study of her husband Larry Mann's experience with muscular dystrophy; intimate, candid portraits of a vulnerable body.

Illness and the bodyCaregiving

The Flesh and The Spirit

2010 Exhibition catalogue / Photography book

A major exhibition catalogue focused on the body, including unpublished early color photographs and new work.

BodyDeathFamily

Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs

2015 Memoir / Photography book

A memoir interwoven with photographs reflecting on her childhood, family, Southern heritage, and the role of photography.

MemoirMemoryRace and Southern history

Remembered Light: Cy Twombly in Lexington

2016 Photography book

A photographic insider's view of Cy Twombly's studio in Lexington, documenting traces of the artist's practice.

Artist homageTraces

Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings

2018 Retrospective / Photography book

A comprehensive compendium of 40 years of work, serving as the catalogue for an international traveling survey exhibition.

RetrospectiveSouthern historyThe body

Bibliography

  • Second Sight: The Photographs of Sally Mann (1983)
  • At Twelve: Portraits of Young Women (1988)
  • Immediate Family (1992)
  • Still Time (1994)
  • What Remains (2003)
  • Deep South (2005)
  • Proud Flesh (2009)
  • The Flesh and The Spirit (2010)
  • Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs (2015)
  • Remembered Light: Cy Twombly in Lexington (2016)
  • Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings (2018)
  • Art Work (2025)

Adaptations

  • Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann
  • What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Use of large-format and wet-plate (collodion) historical processesPowerful black-and-white imageryLyrical perspective that reflects memory and personal experience
Recurring Motifs
Family (notably children)Southern landscapesDeath and decayMemory and nostalgiaMarks of antique cameras and processes

Health

  • Back fracture (equestrian accident)
    2006–2008
    Suffered a back fracture in a 2006 riding accident and took about two years to recover; during recovery she produced ambrotype self-portraits.

Legacy

Renowned for a maternal, intimate perspective and explorations of Southern memory; her work has had strong influence in photographic art and is held in major museums worldwide, while also provoking ongoing controversy over depictions of children.

Museums

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, NY, USA
  • National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C., USA
  • Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Washington, D.C., USA
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Boston, MA, USA
  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Whitney Museum of American Art New York, NY, USA

Academic Societies

  • Royal Photographic Society (Honorary Fellowship)

In Popular Culture

  • Named "America's Best Photographer" by Time magazine (2001)
  • Subject of documentaries 'Blood Ties' and 'What Remains'
  • Central figure in international exhibitions and debates

Quotes

  • “I didn't expect the controversy over the pictures of my children. I was just a mother photographing her children as they were growing up.”
    Source: The New York Times (quoted, c.1992) (1992)
  • “Her book created a place that looked like Eden, then cast upon it the subdued and shifting light of nostalgia, sexuality, and death.”
    Source: Critical reviews (summary) (1992)

Trivia

  • Influenced by her father's 5x7 camera and frequently uses large-format cameras.
  • The 1994 documentary 'Blood Ties' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
  • Suffered a back fracture in a 2006 riding accident and produced ambrotype self-portraits during recovery.
  • 'Immediate Family' provoked major controversy due to images of nude children.
  • Her 2015 memoir 'Hold Still' was a finalist for the National Book Award.