Mint Museum lands ‘transformative’ photo collection from Bank of America
August 21, 2025 | In the PressFrom The Charlotte Observer (https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article311761721.html)
The Mint Museum is set to become home to one of the premier photography collections in the Southeast, thanks to a multi-year “transformative” gift of more than 1,000 photographs coming from Bank of America. The photos are from the Charlotte-based bank’s private collection. The first group of about 200 photographs arrived this month, the Mint said this week.
Spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, the photos focus on the Southern photographers perspectives. The donation will double the size of the Mint’s existing photography collection and lays the groundwork for a dedicated photo gallery space, according to the museum. “This transformative gift allows us to share powerful stories, cultivate new talent and serve our community in new and meaningful ways,” Mint Museum CEO and President Todd Herman said in a statement.
Over several decades, the bank has amassed a “collection of collections” from legacy institutions like NCNB and LaSalle Bank, according to the news release. Bank of America has over 20,000 works by an array of artists, including significant figures in photography history. “We believe investing in the arts has a positive impact on our lives and enriches the local communities we serve,” Bank of America Charlotte market President Kieth Cockrell said in a statement. The Mint and Bank of America have had a decades-long partnership to enhance arts and culture in the region. The Mint had expressed a desire to expand its photography collection, and Bank of America responded by offering a selection from its holdings.
In the Bank of America photo collection Among the photographers in the collection are Richard Avedon, an American fashion and portrait artist. Avedon’s portrait series, “American West”, raised ethical questions about the exploitation of subjects. Also in the collection is Robert Mapplethorpe. Known for black-and-white portraits, nudes and LGBTQ+ and BDSM themes, Mapplethorpe was thrust into national art and censorship debates during the 1980s and 1990s. Among the photos received so far, two are by Avedon, although neither are from “American West “. There’s also one of Mapplethorpe’s, “Merry Hilton (Nude) N.Y.C.,” Mint spokeswoman Michele Huggins said. The full list of all the images coming over the course of five years is still in the transfer process, she said. Others in the collection include Chuck Close, Rineke Dijkstra, Roger Fenton, Lee Friedlander, Lyle Ashton Harris, Candida Höfer, Sally Mann, Richard Misrach, Catherine Opie, Irving Penn, Raghubir Singh, Paul Strand, William E. Williams and Garry Winogrand.
“There is a particular focus on photographs of the South, a region long mythologized,” the Mint’s chief curator, Jennifer Sudul Edwards, told The Charlotte Observer by email. “These photographs are made by those arriving with expectations and Southern photographers searching for their heritage.” The value of the photo collection is still under appraisal, the Mint said. The Mint’s photo gallery plans A major photography exhibition celebrating Bank of America’s photo collection donation will be held in 2027. The Mint also is planning to launch a “Friends of Photography” group that will focus on helping to grow its photography collection for the planned gallery, the museum said. Founded in 1936, the Mint is North Carolina’s first art museum. There are two locations with Mint Museum Uptown at 500 S. Tryon St. and Mint Museum Randolph at 2730 Randolph Road. More arts coverage Want to see more stories like this? Sign up here for our free, award-winning “Inside Charlotte Arts” newsletter: charlotteobserver.com/newsletters. And you can join our Facebook group, “Inside Charlotte Arts,” by going here: facebook.com/groups/insidecharlottearts.
