UA Museum’s Photo Exhibit to Provide Rare Glimpse of State’s Historical Landscape

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Museum of Natural History in Smith Hall on The University of Alabama campus will host the photographic exhibit, Science into History: Photographs by Eugene Allen Smith and the Geological Survey of Alabama, Aug. 27-Nov. 11.

The exhibit showcases 28 rare photographs of Alabama landscapes taken by Eugene Allen Smith, Smith Hall namesake, between 1885 and 1910. Smith served as state geologist, University of Alabama professor and director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. A mini-exhibition of 70 photographs also will be on display and later circulated throughout the state by the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

“Under Smith’s leadership the Survey made great advances in understanding Alabama’s very diverse geology and natural resources,” said Dr. Nick Tew, state geologist and UA adjunct professor. “The photographs of the Smith era provide a unique window into the culture and character of the state in the late 19th and early 20th century.”

Frances Robb, exhibition curator, selected the featured works from more than 1,250 photographs. “They aren’t just pictures of rocks,” Robb said. “They show aspects of a now-varnished, rural Alabama landscape – gristmills, timber mills, plantations, cotton gins and presses. This collection is a treasure trove for anyone interested in Alabama history.”

The opening of the exhibition on Aug. 27 will include a day-long symposium followed by a reception from 3-5 p.m. For more information on the exhibition and the symposium, call 205/348-7551 or visit the Web site at www.amnh.ua.edu. Operating hours for UA’s Museum of Natural History are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors.