Gelatin Silver Print by Charles Rushton of Thomas Barrow, 1992.
Black and white office interior portrait of a man with glasses and a moustache. Man is sitting on a wooden chair with the back wrapped in plastic and wearing jeans with a light color long-sleeved button-up shirt with a collar and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Man is leaning on desk with his left arm and has right hand holding watch on left arm. Body is angled to viewer's left and man's head is turned to viewer's right. The partial desk shows two drawer handles, the top drawer has 3 hand-shaped magnets. Window directly behind man is mostly covered with a dark board. The other window to the viewer's left has numerous stickers covering it proclaiming WWF, GreenPeace, Handgun control, save the Grand Canyon and Amnesty International. The desk is cluttered with papers. Recto: signed, titled and dated by artist.
Description:
Charles Rushton is an American photographer that made portraits of New Mexico photographers between the years of 1980 and 1994. This particular collection consists of 38 prints: twenty-nine- 8"x10" gelatin silver prints and nine- 8½"x11" inkjet prints acquired from the photographer. The collection includes photographers Tom Barrows, Van Deren Coke, Betty Hahn, David Michael Kennedy, Patrick Nagatani, Beaumont Newhall and Joel-Peter Witkin. The earliest print in this collection is of Manuel Carrillo in 1982, and the last piece added to the collection is of Holly Roberts in 1994.
Rushton chose this particular project after attending a Zone VI workshop offered by Fred Picker in Vermont in 1980. While at the workshop Rushton was given specific advice to pick a topic and stick to it instead of switching random topics every day. This was when Rushton had the idea to photograph artists and photographers upon returning home to New Mexico. With the help of photographer friend, Bob Hooten, Rushton was able to obtain the names of photographers that suited the parameters of his project. After a few years, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History purchased several of Rushton's prints for their collection of portraits of New Mexico Artists and expressed interest in seeing his future work. With the permission of the museum, Rushton used the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History name to help him gain influence and access to more famous photographers such as Beaumont Newhall.
Rushton studied photography under Fred Picker, Oliver Gagliani (depicted in the collection) and Arnold Newman (depicted in the collection). Rushton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lawrence University, a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from St. Thomas University, a Master of Arts in Library Science degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography degree from the University of Oklahoma. Rushton is currently a professor of digital photography at Oklahoma City Community College and Moore-Norman Technology Center.
