Photographer Carolyn Bates Fills a Trio of Books With Images of Burlington Murals
By Amy Lilly • Published December 20, 2023 • Seven Days
Burlington residents pass murals daily: the yellow snakeskin-like design on the façade of Old Gold on Cherry Street; the wind-whipped sailing scene on the Lyman Building at Perkins Pier; the Buddha face on Burlington Electric Department’s storage building on Pine Street. These are only a few of the public artworks visible on walls all over town.
Burlington photographer Carolyn Bates began shooting the murals for fun in 2018. Bates, 79, is primarily known as an architectural photographer whose work has landed in Yankee, Fine Homebuilding, Old House Journal and other publications. For that work, she often visits buildings multiple times, her accordion 4×5 camera in hand, to capture the best light and dramatic shadows. But murals are flat, so usually her iPhone 14 Pro sufficed.
Through sharing her mural photos on social media, Bates learned about more street art around town. Eventually, she collected enough images to fill three books. Volume 1 of Street Murals of Burlington: Past and Present is a brightly hued compendium of the city’s surprisingly rich array of public paintings. (The second volume just came out; the third will appear in early spring.)
Travel around Burlington, Vermont, and experience the paintings of mural artists past and present.
Find out more about the books & how to buy them!
