Ted Wathen | American, 1947 -
Wathen was born in 1947 in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in Louisville, received a BA in history from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in photography from the University of Florida. Wathen founded the Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project, and served as a principal photographer for the President’s Commission on Coal. His photographs are included in collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Archives, the U.S. Department of State, and the Kentucky Historical Society. His work has been exhibited at The George Eastman House, The International Center of Photography, The White House, The Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Speed Museum. Exhibitions included: Contemplating Lac Desert (Canadian waterscapes), San Rafael Suite (Southern Utah landscapes), An Olmsted Vision (landscapes from Louisville’s Olmsted parks), Bridges (the Ohio River Bridges at Louisville, KY), Rough Road: The Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project 1975–1977 and Coal–1979, Photographs for the President’s Commission on Coal. In 2026, his work was featured in Much Here Is Beautiful: Photographic Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.