As Good as Can Be: Shenandoah County through the Lens of Hugh Morrison Jr.

Hugh Morrison Jr. (1871–1950) photographed the people and places of Shenandoah County, Virginia, from the late 1890s through 1950. It was an era of dramatic change in our country, and Hugh Morrison photographed through it all, eventually compiling an immense body of work. Now, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, in partnership with the Shenandoah County Historical Society, is pleased to present the first exhibition focused on this prolific photographer. Opening February 11, As Good as Can Be: Shenandoah County through the Lens of Hugh Morrison Jr. includes photographic prints made by Morrison, as well as modern digital prints made from scans of his glass-plate negatives. A number of artifacts from his studio, including his camera, are included in the exhibition, along with interpretive text panels that explain the various aspects of the photographer’s work. But it is the images themselves that steal this show. Each one is intriguing, and together these images provide a truly fascinating window into Shenandoah County in the first half of the twentieth century.

Photo: Unidentified workmen [detail], ca. 1905. Photo by Hugh Morrison, Jr. (1871–1950), courtesy of the Shenandoah County Historical Society