VMFA’s “A Long Arc” Captures Years of Southern Life Through Photography

On a winding path of more than 200 photos, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond tells the story of the American South, from early Antebellum daguerreotypes to vibrant, wall-sized modern photography. The exhibition, A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845, runs through Jan. 26 and features hidden gems from lesser-known studios alongside some of the most iconic images to ever come out of the South, including hallmarks of FSA photography.

Spanning 175 years, varied artistic styles, and significant technological advances, the exhibition tells the story of how “the South is not just one thing, but it’s many different things,” says Sarah Kennel, Ph.D., curator of photography at VMFA. “It’s always been a place of complexity and diversity. There’s a lot of moments of intense, challenging cultural conflicts. But it’s never just been one story.”

FSA and other New Deal-era documentary photos fill one room with haunting, thought-provoking reflections. The collection includes works by Dorothea Lange, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and Walker Evans. In this room, “what you see really is the refinement of the documentary language of American photography, which takes a particular hold in the South,” Kennel says. “We think of documentary as objective, but this very much has a point of view.” 

A Long Arc combines the perspectives of both Northern, government-hired documentarians and Southern resident photographers to depict a variety of life experiences across the South, showing moments of both strife and softness. “Heritage is complex,” Kennel says. VMFA.org


This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue.

Hope Cartwright
Hope Cartwright is associate editor of Virginia Living. A native of Traverse City, Michigan, she is a recent graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
February 13, 2025

Eclipse: an Athenaeum Sculpture Invitational

Athenaeum
February 13, 2025

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Williamsburg Winery