PANORAMA RAY HERBERT  (American, 1945-1997)
was an iconic photographer and folk artist from Atlantic City, New Jersey who eventually settled in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. He earned the "Panorama" nickname from the 1904 Kodak Cirkut camera and oversized contact prints that he used to make his photographs. Ray had a successful career as a pageant and event photographer before his eye turned to the the changing cityscape of Atlanta and its colorful cast of characters outside of the mainstream. In the final few years of his life, his passion turned to painting, and he would sometimes spend up to twenty hours a day in his studio. He was incredibly excited about the Summer Olympic Games coming to Atlanta, and he channeled his creative energy into making 'Finsteresque' works depicting the Atlanta skyline and the city's inhabitants, both real and imagined. Some of those works are in the permanent collection of The Carter Center. Panorama Ray was preparing for an exhibition in Germany when he passed away suddenly, aged 51, having received much attention from the European media who came to Atlanta for the Olympics. 

Panorama Ray, Atlanta, 1996, paint on plywood, 19x93 in.