Bruce Roberts photographic archive
Scope and Contents
The images in this collection chronicle the Southern experience during a significant transitional period in its history: from the early Civil Rights years to the many signs of hope for change embodied in such social programs as Head Start, VISTA, and various rural health initiatives of the 1960s and 1970s. Also included are numerous images of the photographer's son David Roberts, who has Down's Syndrome; a photo essay extracted from these was the first such publication on this topic. Roberts photographed most of the prominent politicians and other public figures of his time, including Jim Bakker, Billy Graham, Lyndon Baines Johnson, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Edmund Muskie, Elvis Presley, Bob Scott, Doc Watson, and Roy Wilkins. Landscapes from the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks capture the beauty of Roberts' adopted state of North Carolina.
Dates
- 1948 - 1989
Creator
- Roberts, Bruce, 1930-.... (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
A portion of this collection is stored remotely; contact repository in advance for retrieval.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply; contact repository for more information.
Biographical Note
Bruce Stuart Roberts was born on February 4, 1930, in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from New York University with a BS (1951), served in the Air Force (1951-1953), and pursued graduate studies at the University of Florida (1954). He began his career in journalism as a reporter for the Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida (1954-1955). He went on to serve as editor and publisher of the Lumberton Post, Lumberton, North Carolina, and the Scottish Chief, Maxton, North Carolina (1956-1958); as a staff photographer for the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina (1959-1961); and the director of photography for the News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware (1962-1963). Roberts freelanced for 15 years (1963-1978) before joining the staff of Southern Living magazine as director of photography (1978-1982) and later senior travel photographer (1982-1992). Roberts was named the Southern Photographer of the Year in both 1959 and 1961 and received first place awards in the National Press Photographers Association news pictures competition in 1959, 1960, and 1961. He has written or had his photographs published in over 30 books.
Extent
10.3 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Bruce Stuart Roberts is an American photographer and author who began his career in the 1950s. The images in this collection chronicle the Southern experience during a significant transitional period in its history: from the early Civil Rights years to the many signs of hope for change embodied in such social programs as Head Start, VISTA, and various rural health initiatives of the 1960s and 1970s.
Accession Number(s)
1993-145; 1993-172; 1993-247; 1994-060; 1994-345; 1996-058; 1996-069; 1996-073; 1996-078; 1996-080; 1996-136; 1996-160; 1996-172; 1996-184; 1996-198; 2006-066; 2010-326; 2011-005
Digital Versions
In 2005, a UT System access grant funded the digitization of 500 images from the Bruce Roberts Photographic Archive. Using the online finding aid, patrons may click the highlighted links next to entries in the archive to view images scanned from that entry. Archival versions of electronic images are stored in the digital archives at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Contact the photo archivist for more information.
Agriculture/ Children/ Cities and towns/ Civil rights/ Country life/ Discrimination/ Education/ Events/ Health care/ Mining/ Missions/ People/ Public service/ Sports/
Physical Description
5 inches manuscript material, 78,383 photonegatives (black and white, color, 35mm), 1,691 photonegatives (black and white, 120mm), 85 photonegatives (black and white, various sizes), 1,213 photoprints (black and white), 11 photoprints (color), 1,621 photoprints (black and white contact sheets), 1,206 positive transparencies (slides), 4 CDs
- Agriculture
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Appalachian Region
- Arkansas
- Bakker, Jim, 1940-
- Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Medical Center
- Children
- Civil rights
- Cotton
- Delaware
- DiMaggio, Joe
- Down syndrome
- Duke University. Medical Center
- Education
- Florida
- Georgia
- Graham, Billy, 1918-2018
- Handicraft
- Head Start programs
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973
- Kelly, Grace
- Kennedy, John F. John Fitzgerald 1917-1963
- Ku Klux Klan 1915-....
- Meharry Medical College
- Mules
- Muskie, Edmund S., 1914-1996
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Physicians
- Political campaigns
- Presley, Elvis, 1935-1977.
- Religion
- Roads--Design and construction
- Roberts, Bruce, 1930-....
- Roberts, David
- Scott, Bob
- Segregation
- Tobacco farms
- United States
- United States--Blue Ridge Mountains
- United States--Blue Ridge Mountains Region
- Volunteers in Service to America
- Wallace, George C. (George Corley), 1919-1998.
- West Virginia
- Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981
Creator
- Roberts, Bruce, 1930-.... (Person)
- Title
- Bruce Roberts Photographic Archive, 1948-1989
- Status
- Ready To Publish
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin TX 78712
