Edith Morgan was born in Camden, Wilcox County in 1875 and documented Alabamians throughout her life. (Public Domain)
The photography of Wilcox County native Edith Morgan encompasses the richness of Alabama history. Her life spanned sixty years and the turn of the twentieth century, and she captured rural Alabama and its people in rich detail. Anyone can appreciate Morgan’s photography, but lovers of art and Alabama history will find her work especially fascinating.
Edith Morgan was born July 28, 1875, in the town of Camden, Wilcox County. Her parents were Yankee “outsiders”—New York natives who came down south at the height of Reconstruction. Her father, Albion LeBat Morgan, was viewed as “the epitome of the carpetbagger Radical Republican” and appointed county commissioner by the federal authorities to the chagrin of the Wilcox County gentry. Edith’s childhood was lonely due to her family’s outsider and political status, but her outcast state undoubtedly shaped her artistic perspective. In her photographs, she portrays everyone—poor or affluent, white or Black—with an equal amount of artistic and professional significance.
Due to her artistic talent, Edith’s parents took the unusual step of sending her to the School of the Chicago Art Institute. When she returned to Alabama she photographed everything and everyone, ranging from sunny picnics to cotton picking, from dapper gentlemen in repose to enormous oxen in the fields. Her photographs of African Americans do occasionally illustrate the racist stereotypes of the times, but her subjects are largely portrayed with dignity and are an immensely valuable cultural artifact.
Due to her artistic talent, Edith’s parents took the unusual step of sending her to the School of the Chicago Art Institute. When she returned to Alabama she photographed everything and everyone, ranging from sunny picnics to cotton picking, from dapper gentlemen in repose to enormous oxen in the fields. Her photographs of African Americans do occasionally illustrate the racist stereotypes of the times, but her subjects are largely portrayed with dignity and are an immensely valuable cultural artifact.
Edith Morgan documented all the people she came across, white and Black, which was unusual for her time. (Public Domain)
With her return to Alabama, Edith continued her photography whenever she could, but she kept up a very active social life. It seems Camden society accepted Edith enough in her adulthood to let her teach their daughters art and photography. Edith also kept busy teaching impoverished white and Black women to read out of the Bible, which led to a wide array of classes and eventually the establishment of several Sunday schools. Edith’s dedication to teaching both white and Black women was remarkable for the time, despite the fact of segregation.
Edith kept up with her photography until her death on April 2, 1939, after a long life of combining service with her artistic endeavors. Hopefully readers of Alabama Heritage with an interest in photography will be inspired to pursue their talents and use them to enrich their community, just like Edith did.
For further reading, see Through a Woman’s Eye: The Early 20th Century Photography of Alabama’s Edith Morgan by Marian Perdue Furman and Matthew Daniel Mason.
Edith kept up with her photography until her death on April 2, 1939, after a long life of combining service with her artistic endeavors. Hopefully readers of Alabama Heritage with an interest in photography will be inspired to pursue their talents and use them to enrich their community, just like Edith did.
For further reading, see Through a Woman’s Eye: The Early 20th Century Photography of Alabama’s Edith Morgan by Marian Perdue Furman and Matthew Daniel Mason.
Author
Katharine Armbrester graduated from UAB in 2019 with an MA in history and received an MFA in creative writing from the Mississippi University for Women in 2022. She loves the world of periodicals, Alabama history and writing.
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