• His best known book, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi", was first published in 1948.

Clarence John Laughlin: An Artist with a Camera chronicles the life of one of America's most significant and enigmatic visual artists. A philosopher, architectural preservationist and an early surrealist, his photography and writings documented the cultural and metaphysical landscape of twentieth century America. Throughout his career Laughlin struggled against an intellectual prejudice directed towards Southern artists of his day. Ostracized by the photographic in-crowd for using techniques that were not yet accepted, Laughlin's work challenged a world that was becoming dehumanized by war and urbanization. Laughlin's legacy is a remarkable body of work, and a testament to an artist who relentlessly drove himself to create photographs that reflected his vision of the human condition Today, his 17,000 master prints are considered to be one of the most important archives in American photography.

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