Featured Photographer: Adger Cowans

“You don’t take pictures with your eyes; you take pictures with the heart.” –Adger Cowans

The Fairfield Museum celebrates the work of renowned American photographer Adger Cowans in our 16th annual IMAGES exhibition. Based in Bridgeport, CT, Cowans is one of the photographic luminaries of our time. He became one of the first African American students to study photography at Ohio University where he was inspired by the work of Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Paul Strand. From there, he studied at the School of Motion Picture Arts and School of Visual Arts in New York City and went on to become the first African American film still photographer in Hollywood. Working with Gordon Parks at LIFE magazine as well as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Spike Lee, and many others, Cowans has used his art to counter racism and capture the beauty of life. Powered by people and a sense of place, this exhibition of Cowans’ photographs captures everything from New York City street scenes to jazz greats like John Coltrane and Sarah Vaughn.

Image: Adger Cowans, Self-portrait, Ohio University, 1957. © Adger Cowans, Courtesy of the artist and 21st Editions / Manhattan Partners Media.