Born: 18 May 1946, United States
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Carol Louise McKinney
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Born in 1946, Highsmith has photographed the American scene for more than twenty-five years. In most of her early work, Highsmith used Swiss-made 4×5″ camera equipment. The large-format view camera captured the clarity, depth, and detail of her subjects in a way that other photographic media, until recently, could not. She relies on the latest technology to scan, store, and print her images and now uses the finest professional digital equipment for most projects.
Highsmith’s first major books, both published in 1988, present extensive visual documentation of the rebuilding of Pennsylvania Avenue and the epic restoration of the Union Station train terminal in Washington, D.C. Her interest in revealing the splendors of historic architecture inspired two more books in 1994: one on the Library of Congress and one called America Restored, which documented two dramatic restoration projects in each U.S. state. In 1997, with her husband Ted Landphair, Highsmith launched two book series that would eventually total more than fifty titles. The large coffee-table books, such as New Orleans: A Photographic Tour, in the “Photographic Tour” series were followed by brief companion volumes in a “Pictorial Souvenir” series.
In 2000-2002, a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation allowed Highsmith to photographically study disadvantaged families in twenty-two cities where the foundation is active. Highsmith responded to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by issuing a book of her World Trade Center photos. She also captured reactions to the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which are in the Library’s September 11th Archive.