The Picture Man: Photographs By Paul Buchanan

by Ann Hawthorne

The Picture Man was Paul Buchanan (ca. 1910-1987), an itinerant photographer who, on foot, on horseback, and by car, wandered four North Carolina mountain counties from 1920 until about 1951. He had stopped making pictures for more than thirty years when Ann Hawthorne, a photographer living in the mountains, heard about Buchanan and went to see him. He told her stories--many of which are transcribed in this book--and showed her some of his negatives, which were filthy and, she thought, unprintable. Hawthorne cleaned them up, though, and discovered a splendid photographer. Buchanan didn't think of himself that way; he took pictures because it paid well, and he was a professional who took pride in what he did. Buchanan worked during years when the mountains were still relatively isolated and when many outsider photographers tended to stereotype the people who lived there, posing them in homespun instead of their new store clothes, for instance. Buchanan, born and raised in the mountains, never did that. These photographs are posed pictures, but the subjects did the posing. They chose what to wear and how to stand. In Paul Buchanan's pictures, then, we have a pure record, a gifted photographer's portrait of the people as they saw themselves. from Bruce Morton's introduction 'If I did take them,' Paul Buchanan said, 'they're good pictures. Good and plain.' They are that, but they are something more as well. They are history, or some of the stuff that history is made a few more pieces of the quilt that is our memory, that tells us who we were and who we are.

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

In researching information about North Carolina, where we now live, I found this delightful book, filled with pictures, from the 1900s. The photographer, Paul Buchanan, was previously unknown to me, and now I look forward to finding out more about him. Ann Hathaway discovered his works, neglected and disintegrating. Her desire to save these pictures has made it possible for further generations to know about Buchanan and the world he lived in. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about the history of early photography, North Carolina or the South, in general.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... it is dangerous to make too many assumptions about faces in a photograph."

"It seemed Paul imposed nothing of himself on me as he made my portrait. but in fact his effect on me was remarkable."

I bought this book because I love old photos. "The Picture Man" took photos of Appalachia's people; the way *they* wanted to be viewed. He let them choose their clothes, poses, and settings; while others in the same era (including Bayard Wooten), would dress the hill folk in old clothes and pose them to look as downtrodden as possible. It's a nice glimpse into the past.

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book and story but lacked depth and detail. The photos they showed were wonderful!

[Sundae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short book, mostly photos, another book for my Appalachian studies. The photos hold stories, thousands of words, and I can look at them over and over.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of the work if itinerant photographer Paul Buchanan. The plain, unpretentious and thus honest and revealing portraits are from McDowell, Yancey, Avery, and Mitchell counties. bookended between short introductory pieces and a transcribed interview, the pictures are presented with little information, for none is remembered or recorded for these beautifully simple artifacts.