Photographed by Nancy Crampton, 1981
Novelist John Irving ('61)
Exeter, NH (March 20, 2009)—From Thursday, April 2 to Saturday, May 9, the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy will present “Writers: Photographs by Nancy Crampton,” a nationally touring photographic exhibition featuring significant writers of our time. The exhibit offers 48 of an original 100 portraits of American novelists, poets and playwrights. An opening reception for Crampton will be held on Friday, April 17, 6:30-8 p.m., and a gallery talk will be held on Saturday, April 18, 10-11 a.m. The Lamont Gallery is located in the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center on Tan Lane. All events are free and open to the public.
Each artist’s photograph is paired with a text from the writer, highlighting their thoughts on the craft, influential moments in each writer’s career, or a discussion of the social importance of writing. The exhibit’s artists include Tennessee Williams, John Cheever, Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison.
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Photograped by Nancy Crampton
Journalist, writer, editor and actor, George Plimpton ('44)
Since the early 1970s, Crampton has been a preeminent portraitist of literary figures. Hundreds of book jackets and magazine articles have featured her photographs. She is the official photographer of the Unterberg Poetry Center in New York City. Novelist Philip Roth describes her exhibit as comprehensive: “Nancy Crampton’s photographs of writers provide a remarkable record of our literary moment. Everybody is here—including those no longer here—and everybody is alive.”
Lamont Gallery Director Karen Burgess Smith says, “Nancy Crampton’s photographs of numerous literary luminaries range from John Updike’s ‘artist-at-work’ image in his book-filled study, to Alice Walker’s elegant and direct photo of the ‘artist-at-rest,’ her hands clasped on her lap, perhaps preparing to return to her study. Crampton’s images of writers such as Truman Capote, shown outdoors with his arms behind his head in a signature pose, and Annie Proulx, seated in a rustic chair in the woods, introduce the viewer to 48 expected or surprising versions of these and other writers. Photos of Exeter alumni include a young John Irving, class of 1961, and a playful George Plimpton, class of 1944, two writers whose works have inspired countless others, and will draw in our students and other gallery visitors.”
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Photographed by Nancy Crampton, 1973
Poet and writer Anne Sexton
The photographed artists include: Nelson Algren, Maya Angelou, W.H. Auden, James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Jorge Luis Borges, Gwendolyn Brooks, Truman Capote, John Cheever, Laurie Colwin, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Díaz, James Dickey, Ralph Ellison, Gabriel García Márquez, Joseph Heller, John Irving, Tony Kushner, Jhumpa Lahiri, Robert Lowell, Norman Mailer, David Mamet, Peter Matthiessen, Lorrie Moore, Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch, George Plimpton, Annie Proulx, Philip Roth, Maurice Sendak, Anne Sexton, Sam Shepard, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Susan Sontag, William Steig, Gloria Steinem, Tom Stoppard, William Styron, Studs Terkel, Paul Theroux, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Alice Walker, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, and Tom Wolfe.
Gallery hours are Mondays 1–5 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed on Sundays. For further information, contact the Lamont Gallery at 603-777-3461. For directions to Phillips Exeter Academy, call 603-777-4330. A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at 603-777-4309 and on our website at http://www.exeter.edu/.
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