DEANA LAWSON
b. 1979, United StatesDeana Lawson is a renowned American photographer whose staged, rich colour photographs have redefined how Black experience and intimacy are made visible in contemporary art. Lawson made history as the first photographer to win the Hugo Boss Prize (2020) and has also been awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize (2022). Lawson’s pioneering work masterfully interweaves personal family album codes, classical portraiture, and documentary photography, standing at the forefront of art that expands the canon and visual record of Black life.
Lawson is Professor of Visual Arts at Princeton University, where she teaches analogue and digital photography. In 2018, she photographed Rihanna for Garage Magazine.
Early Years
Born and raised in Rochester, New York—a city indelibly linked with the history of photography as the birthplace of Kodak—Lawson earned her BFA in Photography at Pennsylvania State University in 2001, and her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Lawson is currently based in Los Angeles and joined the Visual Arts faculty at Princeton University in 2012, bringing her critical engagement and unique vision to contemporary photography education.
Deana Lawson Artworks
Lawson is best known for her lush, staged portraits that explore intimacy, power, and kinship within domestic interiors and unfamiliar environments alike. Her photographs are meticulously composed, often referencing vernacular family albums, iconography, and the formal strategies of both historical and contemporary art.
Early Portraiture (2004–2014)
During this formative period, Lawson produced works such as Diva at 73 Years Old (2009) and Binky and Tony Forever (2009)—the latter gracing the cover of Blood Orange’s album Freetown Sound. Her now-canonical image, Roxie and Raquel, New Orleans, Louisiana (2010), exemplifies her commitment to representing psychological and spatial intimacy.
Expanding the Diaspora (2013–2020)
Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013, Lawson travelled to Haiti, Jamaica, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, producing works such as Mickey & Friends <3 (2013) and Mama Goma, Gemena, Democratic Republic of the Congo (2014), broadening her depiction of Black lives and connections beyond the United States.
Centropy and New Directions (2020–Present)
Lawson’s major institutional exhibitions—Centropy at Kunsthalle Basel (2020) and The Hugo Boss Prize 2020: Deana Lawson, Centropy at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2021)—signalled an even more ambitious scale and thematisation, with allusions to thermodynamics as a metaphor for personal and cultural change. These shows further cemented her role as a leading contemporary artist.
Select Public Commissions
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Tate Modern, London
- Pérez Art Museum Miami
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Select Awards and Accolades
- Hugo Boss Prize, 2020 (first photographer to receive this accolade)
- Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, 2022
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 2013
- John Gutmann Photography Fellowship
- Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant
- Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer’s Fellowship
Exhibitions
Deana Lawson has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions and galleries. Below is a selection of important exhibitions.
Solo Exhibitions
- Deana Lawson: We Are All Stardust, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris (forthcoming, 2025)
- Deana Lawson: The Hugo Boss Prize 2020: Centropy, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2021)
- Deana Lawson: Centropy, Kunsthalle Basel (2020)
- Deana Lawson: A Survey Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; MoMA PS1, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta (2021–2023)
- Deana Lawson: The Garden, Underground Museum, Los Angeles (2018)
- Deana Lawson: Forum 80, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2018)
- Deana Lawson, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2017)
- Deana Lawson, Art Institute of Chicago (2015)
Group Exhibitions
- Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st Century Art and Poetics, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2024)
- Diaries of Home, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2024)
- The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, Baltimore Museum of Art (2023)
- Though it’s dark, still I sing, 34th Bienal de São Paulo (2021)
- Whitney Biennial 2017: Where We Are, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2017)
- New Photography 2011, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011)
More Reading
Lawson’s practice has been featured in leading magazines, including The New Yorker, TIME Magazine, and The New York Times.
Deana Lawson FAQs
Where can I see Deana Lawson’s artworks?
Deana Lawson’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern in London, Pérez Art Museum in Miami, and Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. Major solo exhibitions include Deana Lawson: The Hugo Boss Prize 2020: Centropy (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), Deana Lawson: Centropy (Kunsthalle Basel), and Deana Lawson: A Survey Exhibition (ICA/Boston; MoMA PS1; High Museum of Art).
What awards has Deana Lawson won for her art?
Deana Lawson is the first photographer to receive the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize (2020) and also won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize (2022). She has additionally been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship, John Gutmann Photography Fellowship, Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant, and Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer’s Fellowship.
What themes define Deana Lawson’s contemporary art practice?
Deana Lawson’s artworks engage themes of intimacy, kinship, spirituality, and sexuality. Her highly composed photographs explore the material and emotional realities of Black life, referencing family albums and the visual language of portrait traditions in art.
How do you pronounce Deana Lawson’s name?
Deana Lawson’s name is pronounced “DEE-uh-nuh LAW-sun”.
Are there any random and interesting facts about Deana Lawson?
Her photograph Binky and Tony Forever was the cover of Blood Orange’s celebrated album Freetown Sound. Lawson often discovers her photographic subjects in daily life, building trust and rapport to create her signature images. Growing up in Kodak’s home city influenced her awareness of photography’s significance.
What is Deana Lawson’s academic role?
Lawson is Professor of Visual Arts at Princeton University, where she teaches analogue and digital photography.
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