Death of a Valley_Press Release_08.14.23.pdf

For Immediate Release Press Contact: Grace Adams Director of Marketing [email protected] 770-387-1300 DOROTHEA LANGE & PIRKLE JONES: DEATH OF A VALLEY November 11, 2023 – June 9, 2024 CARTERSVILLE, GA: The Booth Western Art Museum is proud to open Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley on November 11, 2023. This exhibit of over 90 vintage black and white photographs was originally a 1956 collaborative project for Life magazine by Dorothea Lange and Bay Area photographer Pirkle Jones. Their assignment was to document the final year of Northern California’s Berryessa Valley before it was permanently submerged beneath the lake created by the new Monticello Dam. Lange and Jones spent about a year photographing the Berryessa Valley. They began with scenic landscapes and portraits of people living, working, and finally, moving. Other scenes included the town’s last Memorial Day, the final round-up, and the last harvest. Heavy machinery and government workers are seen striping the valley of buildings, landmarks, and vegetation. In the closing images, the valley fills with water. The results were too unsettling to Life. They declined to publish the essay and returned the rights to Lange and Jones. In 1960, the journal Aperture published thirty of the photos as “Death of a Valley.” These images were later exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Seeing the valley as a symbol of an idyllic and disappearing America, Lange and Jones concluded, “The old life in this small valley was part of California legend. We attempted to reveal this and, in addition, lightly remind our viewers of the prices of progress.” MORE

Page 2 – Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley These photos today are prototypical of the later environmental movement and document the dramatic social and technological change experienced in the twentieth century. Produced with Atlanta’s Lumiére Gallery and the Special Collections and Archives at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Dorothea Lange and Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley features many original 1956 prints and prints from the 1960 exhibition. Also included are ephemera on the construction of the Monticello Dam and some of Lange’s original correspondence, including letters to Pirkle Jones and a telegram from Life magazine. According to Pirkle Jones, Death of a Valley “was one of the most meaningful photographic experiences of my professional life.” He and Lange remained friends until her passing in 1965. About Booth Western Art Museum Booth Western Art Museum, an Affiliate to the Smithsonian Institution, is a 120,000 square foot museum located in Cartersville, Georgia, where guests are invited to See America’s Story through contemporary Western artwork, a Presidential Gallery and Civil War art gallery. Open since August 2003, Booth Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Southeast and was named the 2020, 2021 and 2022 USA Today’s 10BEST Readers’ Choice award Best Art Museum in the United States. To learn more about Booth Western Art Museum, visit www.boothmuseum.org. Museum Directions Booth Western Art Museum is located at 501 N. Museum Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120. Take I- 75 to exit 288 – Main Street, Cartersville. Head West. Follow Main Street (Highway #113 / #61) into the business district – approximately 2.2 miles. Turn right on Gilmer Street, travel two blocks under the bridge and the Museum is on the left. Free parking is available in the Tabernacle Baptist Church parking lot on Gilmer Street, across from the Museum entrance. MORE

Page 3 – Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley Museum Hours Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Thursday: 10:00 am – 8:00pm. Sunday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Admission Adult: $13.00; Senior (65+): $11.00; Student (with ID): $10.00; Children 12 and under: Free (accompanied by parent or guardian); Active Military Personnel (with ID): Free (½ price regular admission for all immediate family members of the active duty person); Booth Museum Members: Free; First Thursday of each month: free admission for all between 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. ###