Sam Abell
B.A. in Education, ’70
Named to the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003

Sam Abell visited the University of Kentucky campus in 2003 as a lecturer for the Robert C. May Photography Endowment Lecture Series sponsored by the UK Art Museum. At the conclusion of the lecture, Dean James G. Cibulka officially welcomed Abell into the College of Education Alumni Hall of Fame. Abell was formerly inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni in May 2000 and named to the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 1991.

Abell has worked as documentary photographer for the National Geographic Society since 1970. His photography was featured in several solo exhibitions and he has produced several books of photographs, including his most recent publication, SAM ABELL: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC LIFE (Rizzoli, 2002) which accompanied a retrospective exhibition organized by University of Virginia Art Museum in July, 2002.

He has lectured on photography and exhibited his work to audiences throughout the world.

Sam Abell photo gallery

Books by Sam Abell:

“Sam Abell: The Photographic Life” (2002)
“The Adventures of Lewis & Clark” (2002)
“The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation” w/ Stephen Ambrose (2000, Bicentennial Edition 2002)
“People’s Lives: A Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit” (2001)
“Seeing Gardens” (2000)
“He’s Just My Dad: Portraits of Celebrity Athletes and their Children” w/ Diane Long (2000)
“Australia: Journey Through a Timeless Land” w/ Roff Martin Smith (1999)
“Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery” w/ Stephen Ambrose (1998)
“Wild Shores of Australia” w/ Ron M Fisher and David Doubilet (1996)
“The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning” (1995)
“The Blue and the Gray” w/ Thomas B. Allen (1993)
“National Geographic Guide to the Civil War National Battlefield Parks” (1993)
“Stay This Moment: The Photographs of Sam Abell” (1990)
“Civil War: An Aerial Portrait” w/ Brian C. Pohanka (1990)
“Contemplative Gardens” (1990)
“C.M. Russell’s West” (1989)
“Distant Thunder: A Photographic Essay on the American Civil War” w/ Brian C. Pohanka (1988)
“Mountain Adventure: Exploring the Appalachian Trail” (1988)
“Still Waters, White Waters: Exploring America’s Rivers and Lakes” w/ Ron M. Fisher (1977)
“The Pacific Crest Trail” (1975)