Carol M. Highsmith

The artist explains the donkey is burden, the next three symbolize not to blame others, reach our potential, and then, a new beginning

Carol Highsmith has donated her life's photography work of tens of thousands of images to the Library of Congress during her decades-long career.  The photography collection at the Library is the most historic photographic collection on earth and includes the work of Dorothea Lange and Frances Benjamin Johnston.  Highsmith has been doing a visual study of America for 40 years and travels the United States for about 10 months a year.

Michigan

Long train in Southern Michigan

Plant in Chappell, Michigan

South Haven Light on winters day, South Haven, Michigan

South Haven Light, South Haven, Michigan

A view of neighboring lighthouses on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan

Sign for Henry’s Hamburgers restaurant in Benton Harbor, Michigan

Happy sign for the Sparkle Car Wash in Benton Harbor, Michigan

Figure of prohibition-era crime boss Al “Scarface” Capone, Benton Harbor, Michigan

Old hearse and halloween skeletons, Benton Harbor, Michigan

An old car and an oversized chicken figure, Benton Harbor, Michigan

A vintage Coca-Cola sign, Benton Harbor, Michigan

Gigantic dinosaur-like head and others, Benton Harbor, Michigan

Old tricycle and older car, Benton Harbor, Michigan

Signs on the side of, and leaning against, a small repair shop in Stevensville, Michigan

Baseball player cut outs, and a bear figure at the Getaway Grille and Cubbie Bar, Brigman, Michigan

A scene at the Getaway Grille and Cubbie Bar, Brigman, Michigan

A winter day in February at Weko Beach in Brigman, Michigan

February day at Weko Beach in Brigman, Michigan

The 5-Mile Drive-in Theater in Dowagiac, Michigan

Sign for Lutz’s Drive-In restaurant in Dowagiac, Michigan

A row of metal grain silos outside Dowagiac, Michigan

The Bow Wow Bakery & Bath dog-grooming shop in Dowagiac, Michigan

A downtown block in Niles, Michigan

The Oh My dress store in Niles, Michigan

War memorial clock in the small city Niles, Michigan

Pure Michigan sign near Niles, Michigan

The Spirit of Detroit, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan

Sign for the Tap Room lounge in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Neon sigh for Zehnder’s restaurant in Frankenmuth, Michigan

Man with cane and trench coat pauses outside a shop in Hamtramck, Michigan

Hookah lounge in Hamtramck, Michigan

State Capital, Lansing, Michigan

The Big Boy restaurant chain’s mascot, Waterford, Michigan

View of Stepping Stone Falls in Genesee, Michigan

Mount’n’View, by Nina Akumu  in Dowagiac, Michigan