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Tennessee State Museum Presents Exhibition by Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer Robin Hood

An exhibit of photographs by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Robin Hood has opened at the State Museum, on view through November 7, 2010, in the Changing Gallery at the Tennessee State Museum.

The exhibit, Historic Tennessee: Photographs by Robin Hood, is presented in association with the Tennessee Preservation Trust and features images from the book of the same title.

The book, Historic Tennessee, showcases Tennessee’s rich historical and architectural heritage through Hood’s memorable images and the moving words of history writer James A. Crutchfield. Forty photographs featured in the book will be on public view at the State Museum.

This photographic exhibit “captures the story of our state’s settlement and expansion, as well as its periods of conflict and human drama. This is best remembered today in the surviving structures and sites which were, in many instances, integral elements of the events that shaped Tennessee’s and the nation’s history,” according to Museum Executive Director Lois Riggins-Ezzell.

Historic Tennessee: Photographs by Robin Hood presents the historic architecture and treasured sites in Tennessee. The collection is in no way a comprehensive presentation of all Tennessee’s historic buildings, but is an effort to expand traditional perspectives of historic sites engaging a broader segment of the public. The treasures that have been photographed include a diverse collection of archeological, Native American, African American, early industrial, and residential sites, in addition to the traditional architectural canon.

Images include sites thousands-of-years-old as well as places which represent the three centuries of growth in Tennessee. From Rocky Mount in Piney Flats to the Steamboat Wharf on the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis, these locations are presented east to west, in reflection of our state’s history, and exemplify broadened perspective on those historic landmarks.

Hood studied painting at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award during its Centennial Celebration. He served as an Army lieutenant in Vietnam prior to beginning his career with the Chattanooga Free Press, where he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Photography. Hood is an award-winning photographer and author of several books about America, including The Tennesseans with then Governor Lamar Alexander, Neyland: Life of a Stadium, and was a contributor to the popular Day in the Life series of books. The Tennesseans: A People Revisited, Hood’s book with writer Barry Parker, was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal as “Best Coffee Table Book in America” the year of its release. A resident of Franklin, Tennessee, Hood serves on the boards of several preservation organizations there.

Image: Robin Hood, Rocky Mount, 2010, UltraChrome print, original structure built 1772, present structure built 1820’s, Sullivan County

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