From mid-twentieth century architects’ own homes to preserved artists’ homes around the world, every project I have embarked on begins with a persistent curiosity that evolves into a photographic journey. It is a search to discover if what I am looking for truly exists. My next search is just beginning and for it I will need your support. I am searching for the soul of America through the spaces where its history has been made. We are actively seeking support and partners in this important project. Please read on to learn more about how you can be involved.

Searching for the Soul of America is by far the most historically significant and expansive project of my two-decade career: it is an image and word essay exploring the places where this country’s history has been made. In a time when the United States is more polarized than ever before, this “search” is rooted in my desire to illuminate the collective humanity inherent in this country’s evolution: the people behind the values and ideals, the histories both large and small, the well-known places and the small forgotten corners that a few people still cherish and preserve. Ideally this project will be a way for our disconnected nation to reconnect with its history and the common yet extraordinary people who created it, reminding us all that what we share far outweighs our perceived differences. 

I envision this body of work culminating in a traveling museum exhibition with images so vast and expansive that they become visceral portals into history, metaphysical entry points transporting us to another time and space. While some of our beloved historical and preserved places across America have been photographed before, none has been captured with the emotional resonance essential and present in my work. Like all of my four bestselling books, my images are shot intuitively with natural light only and focus on both the entire room or space and the small and intimate details that ultimately tell a humanizing and unifying story about who we are as a people. In addition to an exhibition, the project will become a book, a documentary film, and maybe even a podcast.

The intention of this project is to find the shared humanity once again among our communities. Despite the intense conflict and separation we are now experiencing, I believe in the absolute basics we have in common as Americans. I believe Americans love the uniqueness of this country, its experiment of ideals, the belief that freedom is a human right.

We are currently in an active research and early funding stage, applying for grants and seeking out partners to support the project. Because it is such a significant and time-intensive undertaking, I will need to pare down my other work while I continue to research, set up photoshoots, coordinate with historical spaces, embark on my travels in earnest, and fund my own team and operations. The project will require intensive travel through New England and the Northeast, the South and Southeast, Midwest, Western US and the Southwest.

A selection of historic spaces for inclusion are:  

• Jefferson’s Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

• Concord/Lexington MA - Site of the first shots of the Revolutionary War, center of revolutionary thought and literature in the 1800’s. 

• Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA

• The Ben Moore Hotel Barbershop, Montgomery, AL

I am reaching out to my community and supporters who I believe will understand the enormity and scope of this very important project. I am specifically seeking donations between $5,000-$10,000, but any amount you would like to contribute will be gratefully received. 

I have secured fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas so that all contributions to the project are tax deductible. And I am deeply grateful to have received early support and advocacy from independent filmmaker Owsley Brown III who shares a passionate understanding of the scope of my vision.

This initial funding will allow me to kick off my journey and support my team to continue raising funds and securing larger partnerships to bring this project to fruition. Every person and organization that supports this project will be publicly acknowledged for their early generous support at the exhibition, in my book, film, podcast, newsletter and social media.

Thank you in advance for any support you can give and please do share this letter with anyone who will want to be a part of this important project.

Searching for the Soul of America is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Searching for the Soul of America must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Leslie Williamson is an artist, photographer and essayist, best known for her unique and personal approach to photographing interiors. Beyond merely documenting beautiful and inspirational spaces, Leslie sees the rooms we live in as intimate portraits of ourselves. She is the author of four books—Handcrafted Modern, Interior Portraits, Modern Originals, and Still Lives—and in each she uses her camera as a literal and metaphorical lens for communicating the lives of her subjects, be they iconic architects, designers, influential cultural mavericks or the quiet creative geniuses that have remained out of the spotlight. Her latest release is Still Lives: In the Homes of Artists, Great and Unsung (Rizzoli, October 2021), a collection of fifteen artists’ homes and studios. Each chapter, each image, is a portal into the artist’s interior worlds, physical and psychological, combined and intertwined. 

Williamson’s photography is in private collections and has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States and Japan. Her images have been published in monographs from publishers Rizzoli, Gestalten, Prestel, Hearst Books, Phaidon, etc. When not creating her own books and projects, she collaborates with editorial and design clients around the world including World of Interiors, Casa Brutus, Feel Free, StudioIlse, Commune Design, Eames Institute, SFMOMA, USM and others. People Watching, Williamson’s Design and Culture column for The New York Times’ T Magazine, ran throughout 2012.