Earlie Hudnall Jr.

Smiling Girls

1984

Earlie Hudnall Jr., who is one of the most notable African American photographers living today, has extensively documented the African American neighborhoods in Houston, Texas.

After serving as a Marine in Vietnam, he enrolled at Texas Southern University, where he studied art under the direction of John Biggers, who became a great friend and mentor. During his time at TSU, he was hired to be a photographer for the Model Cities Program, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty initiative. This project introduced him to the various communities of Houston such as the Fourth Ward, Fifth Ward, Trinity Garden and the Hispanic neighborhoods.

Hudnall's photographs have been included in a traveling exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art called “African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond.” The exhibition catalog features Earlie's photograph, Looking Out, on the back cover.

His photographs are in major museum collections including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art; the Art Institute of Chicago; National Museum of American Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Find original Earlie Hudnall photography today on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by PDNB Gallery)