Anita Douthat


Anita Douthat is an American photographer. Her photograms have been included in exhibitions at the Cincinnati Art Museum; Indianapolis Art Center; Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University; and the Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts. She has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Early life and education

Douthat was born in Cincinnati. She received a Bachelor of Science from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972 and a master of fine arts from the University of New Mexico in 1986.

Artistic process

Douthat makes large photograms. She places found objects, chosen for their transparent or opaque qualities, atop photosensitive paper and lets the light burn through to create silhouette-like imagery. Later, the paper is chemically gold-toned—it gets a purplish color—and fixed for permanence. Her Alterations series is of life size images of women's apparel, including wedding dresses.

Professional career

From 1985 to 1992, she was curator of the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University and is currently associate director of the Carl Solway Gallery.

Early works

1974- Photographed the Mayan ruins for an academic journal about early Mayan Society. Collection of 5 photographs were published in the Chicago Review.

Personal life

Stated that one of her professors, Professor Siegel, at Illinois Institute of Technology was one of the first people who peaked her interest in the technical aspects of photography.
She currently resides in Alexandria, Kentucky.

Publications

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Awards

Douthat has received awards and grants for her work from the following bodies:

Collections

Douthat's work is held in the following permanent collections:

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

  • 1992: In Praise of Shadows, Houston Center for Photography
  • 1993: Vanishing Act, Robert C. May Gallery of Photography, University of KY, Lexington
  • 1994: Defying Gravity, Carnegie Arts Center, Covington, KY
  • 2007: With a Trace, Indianapolis Art Center, IN
  • 2014: Under the Sun, Westin Art Gallery, Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Group exhibitions