Raking Light: Photographs of East Tennessee and the American South

Raking Light: Photographs of East Tennessee and the American South celebrates the growth of the KMA’s photography collection through the recent acquisition of works documenting the region’s shifting social landscape. It also attests to the richness of East Tennessee’s photographic history, a history shaped by outstanding local artistic talent, influential artists with ties to the area, and visiting photographers drawn here by an abundance of compelling subject matter. This special Higher Ground spotlight exhibition will be on view from November 1, 2025 through April 12, 2026.

IMAGE: Henri Cartier-Bresson (Chanteloup-en-Brie, France 1908-2004 Céreste, France), Knoxville, Tennessee, 1947, gelatin silver print, 12 x 16 inches, Knoxville Museum of Art, 2019 purchase with funds provided by June and Rob Heller, Jim Martin, James L. Clayton, Hei Park, John Cotham, Jayne and Myron Ely, Dorothy and Caesar Stair, Ebbie Sandberg, John Trotter, KMA Guild, Mardel Fehrenbach, Kitsy and Louis Hartley, Sylvia and Jan Peters, Mary Rayson, Alexandra Rosen, John Z.C. Thomas, and Lisa Carroll