Lampasas County is and was home to a number of professional photographers. This exhibition will focus on the work of two of these, the late Gladden Corbin (1927-2018) and Harold Harton (b. 1928).
Corbin, born in Lamesa, Texas moved to Lampasas County with his parents when he was three. He graduated from Clay Rock School and Lampasas High School, and served as camera department and photographer in the Philippines in the U.S. Army from 1946-47. He retired from the civil service Post Signal Photo Lab. His widow, Marlene Machen Corbin, recalls Gladden always having a camera in hand and his wonder at the complexities of photography. His startling beautiful and detailed photographs of nature, his portraits of Lampasans, his photographic record of the Mother's Day Flood (1957), and his aerial views are just some of the categories of his work that will be on view at the Museum, along with a selection of cameras he used for his work.
Harton arrived in Lampasas in 1945 after graduating from Briggs High School. He ran a barbershop on the north side of the square until the Flood of 1957 destroyed his shop and he moved to Key Avenue. He also worked as a real estate broker and appraiser. In 1963, he became a full-time school-picture photographer and continued in that role for more than two decades. He taught photography at Central Texas College, and served as a crime scene photographer for police. An avid outdoorsman, Harton took many pictures of wildlife. He is also a collector of historical objects, Lampasas area photographs among them.
Corbin, born in Lamesa, Texas moved to Lampasas County with his parents when he was three. He graduated from Clay Rock School and Lampasas High School, and served as camera department and photographer in the Philippines in the U.S. Army from 1946-47. He retired from the civil service Post Signal Photo Lab. His widow, Marlene Machen Corbin, recalls Gladden always having a camera in hand and his wonder at the complexities of photography. His startling beautiful and detailed photographs of nature, his portraits of Lampasans, his photographic record of the Mother's Day Flood (1957), and his aerial views are just some of the categories of his work that will be on view at the Museum, along with a selection of cameras he used for his work.
Harton arrived in Lampasas in 1945 after graduating from Briggs High School. He ran a barbershop on the north side of the square until the Flood of 1957 destroyed his shop and he moved to Key Avenue. He also worked as a real estate broker and appraiser. In 1963, he became a full-time school-picture photographer and continued in that role for more than two decades. He taught photography at Central Texas College, and served as a crime scene photographer for police. An avid outdoorsman, Harton took many pictures of wildlife. He is also a collector of historical objects, Lampasas area photographs among them.