Boxers, Angola, Louisiana
April 22, 1999
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print on aluminum
Dimensions
image/plate: 12.7 × 10.1 cm (5 × 4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Julia J. Norrell, in Honor of Claude Simard and the 25th Anniversary of Photography at the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2014.177.25
Art Historical Context
**Boxers, Angola, Louisiana** (1999) is a striking gelatin silver print on aluminum by photographer Deborah Luster, capturing a moment at Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana. Measuring just 5 × 4 inches, this intimate image invites close viewing, evoking the raw humanity within one of America's most notorious maximum-security prisons, known for its sprawling 18,000 acres and complex history tied to Louisiana's penal system since the 19th century. Luster's work often explores themes of incarceration and identity, with this piece likely part of her documentary-style series portraying life in...
About the Artist
Deborah Luster
Deborah Luster, born in 1951 in Bend, Oregon, grew up in Northwest Arkansas and later made her home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with additional time spent in Galway, Ireland. Her path to photography was profoundly shaped by personal tragedy: the 1988 murder of her mother, which prompted her to take up the medium as a means of processing grief and exploring violence's aftermath. Luster attended the ...