Apr 3, 2026 - Culture

New Gordon Parks exhibit arrives in Atlanta

Kristal Dixon

Vintage storefront with an "ICE MILK SOLD HERE" sign, colorful posters on the window, a man helping a girl drinking from a "COLORED ONLY" water fountain, two women in mid-century dresses, and a small child in a white dress beside water fountain labeled "WHITE ONLY." — Gordon Parks' "At Segregated Drinking Fountain" photograph appeared in Life magazine in 1956 as part of a photo essay documenting how Black families navigated Jim Crow in the South. Photo: Courtesy of Gordon Parks Foundation

A new exhibit on display in Atlanta is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Life magazine publishing Gordon Parks' iconic photo essay of Black American life in the Jim Crow South.

Why it matters: The photographs of Black families carrying out their day-to-day activities forced readers to confront the human reality of de jure segregation.

Driving the news: Jackson Fine Art's Gordon Parks: The South in Color exhibit will feature more than 30 photographs from Parks' series and present a new set of photos published by the Gordon Parks Foundation.

Visitors will have a chance to view photos that have not been published, as well as Parks' most recognized works.

Zoom in: The exhibit, curated by artist Dawoud Bey, includes photos from the 1956 Life magazine spread that followed the Thornton family and their extended relatives in and around Mobile, Alabama.

The rarely seen photographs will showcase children, "whose presence anchors many of the series' most powerful images," according to a press release from Jackson Fine Art.

Go: The exhibit will be on display through June 13.

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New Gordon Parks exhibit arrives in Atlanta

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