Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital slr-2008.

The Bar-B-Q Inn, Greensboro, Alabama

Artist William Christenberry (American, 1936 - 2016)

CultureAmerican

Date1990

MediumChromogenic print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 10 × 12 in. (25.4 × 30.5 cm)

InscribedEach print is signed, titled, dated and numbered on the verso.

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by David and Susan Goode, Oriana and Arnold McKinnon, Renée and Paul Mansheim, and the Norfolk Southern Foundation

Object number2008.7.15

Not on view

DescriptionFifteen from a suite of sixteen. This chromogenic print is of a small brick and wooden structure. The building is in poor condition. A door is in the middle of the façade, surrounding it are tattered pieces of board and windows that have no glass in them. The building is empty and abandoned. An old piece of furniture is sitting out front under one of the windows.

Label TextWilliam Christenberry American, 1936–2016 The Bar-B-Q Inn, Greensboro, Alabama, 1964–1990 Sixteen archival pigment prints (photographs) William Christenberry repeatedly visited this site in Hale County, Alabama, from 1964 to 1991, producing more than a dozen views of the Bar-B-Q Inn. The native Alabamian was drawn to the building’s vernacular architecture and its relationship to the surrounding landscape. Over the course of the series, the building weathers until nothing is left but a concrete slab. A record of architectural decomposition and nature’s resilience, the series also provides a sense of being grounded in a place long enough to witness time’s passage. Museum purchase, with funds provided by David and Susan Goode, Oriana and Arnold McKinnon, Renée and Paul Mansheim, and the Norfolk Southern Foundation 2008.7.1–.16 ProvenanceGeorge Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington DC; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Museum purchase, gift of Mr. and Mrs. David R. Goode, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold B. McKinnon, Dr. and Mrs. Paul A. Mansheim, Norfolk Southern Foundation and the Art Purchase Fund, 2008. Exhibition HistoryHemphill Fine Arts Gallery, Washington DC, 2001. A print of this photograph Pace MacGill Gallery, New York City, New York, 2001. A print of this photograph "Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., October 23, 2004 - January 31, 2005. A print of this photograph "Passing Time, The Art of William Christenberry," Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. and subsequent traveling exhibitions, July 4, 2006 - July 4, 2007. A print of this photograph 'Recent Photography Acquistions," Alice R. and Frank B. Sol Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, December 12, 2008. "New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016. "Photographs Take Time: Pictures from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, April 6 - August 26, 2018.Published References"The Bar-B-Q Inn, The Green Warehouse, The Underground Club" Blind Spot Magazine issue 21, 2002. A print of this photograph Blind Spot Magazine issue 32, 2006. A print of this photograph Andy Grundberg, Elizabeth Broun, Howard Fox and William Christenberry, _William Christenberry_ (New York: Aperture, 2006) ISBN: 978-1931788892. A print of this photograph