"Elmer" by Tonee Harbert. Mr. Harbert looked at rural life for several years through images of one man, Elmer Walker of Porter, Maine. Harbert first photographed all aspects of Elmer's world, then mounted these images in rustic frames with hand-written captions.

Mr. Harbert also wrote a book, "Elmer Walker: Hermit to Hero". ELMER WALKER: HERMIT TO HERO began as a search for the perfect image, one of rural Maine that might describe the complexities of its people and their way of life. Created in conjunction with the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Tonee Harbert's pictorial artistry and Carolyn Chute's tale of Elmer's life combine to form a masterful depiction of small town Maine.©1998

Tonee Harbert

Photographer Tonee Harbert brings a unique perspective to his commissions, assignments and exhibitions. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Portland Museum of Art and The Danforth Museum of Art. In 2003, he produced a public art installation at Southern Maine Community College and worked in 2004 on another Public art commission with partner Shoshannah White at the Portland Transportation Center. His work has been published in magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, American Photo, Travel and Leisure, Yankee, Metropolitan Home, Down East, Country Inns and Art New England.

Some of the subjects Tonee Harbert has covered in the past decade are Jamaican migrant workers, Cambodian refugee immigrants, ex-President George Bush's summer residence in Kennebunkport, Maine, homeless people in Washington DC, and musicians. Harbert photographed an aged Maine hermit over a period of six years and produced a fine-art installation and book entitled Elmer Walker: Hermit to Hero. That exhibition was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning.

Always trying to learn about life through photography, Harbert is attracted to stories about the exceptional lives of ordinary people, to understanding their stories, and telling those stories with photography, often experimenting in his search for new ways to communicate visually.

Harbert received a degree in Visual Communication from Ohio University in 1986; that year he placed 2nd nationally in the Hearst College Photojournalism Championship. After graduation, he continued his education informally while working at the Library of Congress, printing photographs from the depression-era Farm Security Administration. He has lived in Maine since 1988.

Harbert has received grants from the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Community Foundation. His work has appeared in the following books: Elmer Walker: Hermit to Hero, Maine: A Peopled Landscape, Maine: A peopled Landscape, New Music Across America, and Homeless in America. His photographs have been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Danforth Museum of Art, University of Miami (FL), the Institute of Contemporary art at Maine College of Art and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. In 1999, he was awarded first place in PDN/ Nikon Self Promotion Awards category of Best Ongoing Campaign, Established Talent. His photographs have also been included in two motion pictures: Home Less Home (independent), and Message in a Bottle (Warner Brothers).