Name/Title
Small Towns Big Picture exhibition inventoryEntry/Object ID
2022.21.836Description
On Saturday evening January 14, 2012, several hundred people attended the 'opening' of the exhibition "Small Towns, Big Picture - the Photography of Bill Simmons" to see 31 giant 'blow-up' photos from the huge Simmons collection of the Society's photo library of Saugatuck area life in the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibit, which runs through March 9, is sponsored jointly by the Society and the Saugatuck Center for the Arts and is featured in the Center's gallery.
When he died in 1966, photographer Bill Simmons left nearly 3,000 photographs documenting life in Saugatuck and Douglas from 1940 to 1961 - filed away in little envelopes, numbered, named, and placed in two wood boxes, some with date and identifying information. Making up what must be one of the largest "photo shoots" of any mid-century American town, the collection disappeared until it was given anonymously to the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society in 1998.
This exhibition presents some Simmons photos which are shown here for the first time. The exhibit curators/designers were Jim Schmiechen and Ken Carls. Jack Sheridan will present a program about the Simmons collection at the SCA on Wednesday, February 8. Walk onto the SCA's Big Screen and into the 1940s and 1950s on February 8th with Jack's Q & A presentation of these and more from the Simmons Collection.
source: https://www.sdhistoricalsociety.org/Newsletter/2012/jan12/jan12_newsletter.htmPhotograph Details
Type of Photograph
Digital scanSubject Person or Organization
Simmons, William "Bill" R. 1890/1-1966Context
This entry documents what photos were displayed at the 2012 exhibition and their photo captions. They are low-resolution images. Higher resolution versions have been cataloged individually in the Simmons collection 2022.21.Collection
William (Bill) SimmonsCataloged By
Winthers, SallyLocation
Building
2nd floor archivesRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Simmons, William "Bill" R. 1890/1-1966Create Date
April 13, 2023Update Date
April 13, 2023
