William Richardson compiled a substantial collection of photographs of people and places, both in nature and urban environments. Not only are they technically skillful but they seem to capture the special human qualities of persons, places, and events. Many of his photographs focus on nature, especially the dunes landscape, flowers, and especially birds. There are also numerous images from trips throughout the world from European cities, the Maritime Provinces of Canada (especially Bonaventure Island), the boundary waters of Minnesota, natural areas of the western United States, and American cities. He was an active member of the Chicago Camera Club and submitted many photographs for sharing with colleagues.
A large number (approximately 1500) of William's photographs were archived as nitrate negatives, which are highly volatile and unstable. In 2012 the Board worked with the Indiana Historical Society to convert these negatives to digital files. The resulting high-resolution digital scans of William's photographs are available for view on this website here. The great majority of the images have no location or data information. File names are somewhat generalized and we expect to continue working on these valuable archives and updating metadata for the photographs in the coming years.
In 2012, an exhibition focused on the photography of William Richardson was held at the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The exhibit consisted of 40 photographs framed under glass. The photographs reflected all phases of Richardson’s career and his photographic legacy as a pictorialist photographer. View the brochure for more information on this exhibit and the joint exhibit at the Westchester Township History Museum that highlighted the lives, work, and educational contributions of both William and Flora.
