Maude Schuyler Clay: Portraits of a Place

Client: Mississippi Museum of Art

Exhibition on view October 29, 2022–March 3, 2023

Portraits of a Place includes nearly 100 photographs by Maude Schuyler Clay of the people and places around her home in Sumner, Mississippi. Sixty seven-inch-square “Little Gems” share with visitors her family and friends. Other series depict fruit still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, while historic family photographs and an installation centered around a Sally Mann photograph complete the exhibition. The artist’s work is elegant and timeless, which is reflected in the design of the title graphic. Light and dark green walls, punctuated with peach areas, denote the locations of series in the galleries while highlighting the photographs in their all-white mats and frames. The colors evoke the natural world, afternoon light, and nostalgia, and can be found in the images themselves.