Alex Harris is an American photographer known for his insightful documentary work and images that explore themes of culture and identity. Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1949, Harris grew up in the American South, attended Yale College, and traveled extensively. Between 1972 and 1978 he lived and photographed in Hispanic villages in northern New Mexico and Inuit and Yupik villages in Alaska. Harris practices documentary photography, capturing the everyday lives and stories of people from diverse communities and cultures.
Throughout his career, Harris has collaborated with writers, historians, and fellow photographers on various projects that combine words and images to tell compelling stories, including River of Traps: a New Mexico Mountain Life with William deBuys. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Harris founded the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in 1980. His photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Additionally, Harris is a Guggenheim Fellow, Rockefeller Scholar, and Lyndhurst Grant recipient.
