Curated by the Meadows and Link’s son, W. Conway Link

NOVEMBER 8, 2014 – JANUARY 31, 2015
O. Winston Link (1914-2001) is one of the most important American photographers of the 20th century.

This retrospective exhibition, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth on December 16, is curated by the Meadows and the photographer’s son, Shreveport resident W. Conway Link. It features more than fifty black and white photographs, including three large bodies of Link’s work—his Louisiana series, his commercial photography, and his steam locomotive series. 

Shortly after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1937, O. Winston Link landed a job with Carl Byoir and Associates, a Manhattan-based public relations firm. Some of the earliest photographs in the exhibition are from July of that year when the firm sent Link to south Louisiana to document commerce, industry, and life in post-Huey P. Long Louisiana. These include scenes from the filming of Cecil B. DeMille’s movie The Buccaneer in New Iberia, images of alligator hunting, rice harvesting, the blessing of shrimp boats, parties for Governor Richard W. Leche, bee insemination, the petroleum industry, the Cotton Exchange, and photographs of New Orleans’ French Quarter—scenes that could not have been more alien to the twenty-three-year-old Link, a Brooklyn native on his first major photo assignment. 

Also featured in the exhibition are photographs from Link’s famous Norfolk and Western Railway steam locomotive series. Link’s fascination with railroads led him to produce 2,400 negatives documenting the end of the steam era between 1955-1960. Many of these were shot at night and required Link’s background in civil engineering to light the trains at just the right time. Sometimes he would wire more than forty flashbulbs in series to fire simultaneously at the instant he released his 4x5” view camera’s shutter. This kept everything in the carefully composed frame in perfect focus, from the speeding trains to the nearby action, including crowded drive-in movies and swimming holes. 

In a photographic career spanning more than seven decades, Link developed a fresh photographic style that made even posed scenes look candid. His interesting publicity photos were in high demand; they even appeared in Life Magazine. His body of work also reveals a photographic sense of humor, an interest in dramatic angles, great tonal ranges that make his black and white photography feel colorful, and frequent use of visual repetition. These qualities appear throughout the exhibit. 

This exhibition is sponsored by Louisiana Link LLC, 206 Milam St. LLC, and the Shreveport Historic Preservation Society. 

• PRESS RELEASE