Annie Leibovitz photography exhibition coming to Charlotte
The Mint Museum presents ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK, a landmark exhibition celebrating the iconic photographer’s illustrious career. Opening to the public April 27, 2025, at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, the exhibition is an extraordinary opportunity to experience Leibovitz’s evolving artistry in an innovative and dynamic format.
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK presents a compelling mix of new and rarely seen photographs alongside some of the most recognizable portraits in American culture. Known for her signature ability to capture intimacy and personality, Leibovitz’s images feature a remarkable roster of artists, musicians, politicians, athletes, and other influential figures throughout five decades. From her early black-and-white work to her more recent, painterly conceptual portraits, the exhibition showcases the breadth and depth of her creative journey.
“Annie Leibovitz’s career as a photographer has developed alongside the United States’s obsession with celebrities, both their public image and their private side. Leibovitz’s images manage to capture both — the individual in a private setting that reflects both what the public expects and what we could never see — naked John Lennon curled around clothed Yoko Ono, Whoopi Goldberg immersed in a bath of milk, Steve Martin painted like a Franz Kline striking a pose in front of a Franz Kline,” Jen Sudul Edwards, chief curator and curator of Contemporary Art at The Mint Museum, said. “What this show illustrates is that not only has Leibovitz documented popular culture in this country for 50 years, but her images have also defined what we expect that cultural to look like.”
Visitors will enjoy the exhibition in an engaging dual format, with prints on paper complemented by cutting-edge digital tower displays. This immersive presentation highlights both the timeless quality of her earlier work and her embrace of new photographic technologies to portray the figures defining today’s cultural landscape.
Leibovitz’s remarkable career began in the 1970s, when she made her mark as “Rolling Stone” magazine’s chief photographer. Immersed in the cultural and social upheavals of the era, her work quickly became emblematic of the time. In the early 1980s, she transitioned to photographing for “Vanity Fair” and later “Vogue,” broadening her scope and establishing herself as the definitive portraitist of the world’s most fascinating figures.
Leibovitz’s trailblazing achievements include being the first female artist to have a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, in 1991. Her contributions to photography have been recognized with numerous accolades, including lifetime achievement awards from the International Center of Photography and the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In a testament to her enduring influence, she has also been named a living legend by the Library of Congress.
Her legacy is one of capturing the essence of her subjects with unparalleled intimacy and artistry, a feat that continues to define her as one of the most significant photographers of our time.
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas where it was originally on view. The Mint Museum is the third venue for the exhibition.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts are an additional $10 plus museum admission. Museum admission is free for members and youth ages 18 and younger; $15 for adults; $10 for seniors ages 65 and older and college students with ID. Tickets may be purchased at mintmuseum.org.
THE MINT MUSEUM
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.
CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 13 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions.
