William Eggleston was born in Memphis, Tennessee and was raised on a cotton plantation. His work has been described as ‘a portrait of the south.' Eggleston creates large prints celebrating everyday subjects, giving equal attention to the little details of every day life. Eggleston is commonly referred to as the pioneer of color photography. He established this reputation from his exhibit William Eggleston’s Guide, which appeared at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1976. Since the success of his exhibition at the MOMA, Eggleston has had nine commissions, twenty six solo exhibitions, twenty eight group exhibitions, and is the recipient of nine awards including the Gold Medal for Photography from the National Arts Club in 2003. In 2005 Eggleston traveled to Xilitla, Mexico to photograph Las Pozas, as well as to Tokyo, Japan to be a guest judge at Cannon’s New Cosmos Photography Contest. Eggleston continues to reside in Memphis and to travel for photographic projects.