St. Gabriel, Louisiana
December 1, 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
2014.177.115
Art Historical Context
**St. Gabriel, Louisiana (1999) is a poignant gelatin silver print on aluminum by photographer Deborah Luster, a moment from her explorations of Louisiana's landscapes and communities. Measuring just 5 × 4 inches, this intimate-scale image invites close viewing, its title evoking the rural town of St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish, known for its historical ties to plantations, industry, and notably, the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center—a women's prison that has shaped the region's identity. Luster, celebrated for her documentary-style work addressing memory, violence, and incarceration, often pho...
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 ...