Ted Degener Photographs Books Bio Contact
Ted Degener has been photographing artists, artists’ environments, roadside eccentricities, and offbeat Americana since the mid-1980s. Central to Degener’s practice are long road trips throughout the United States. While these trips are often planned, anything that catches his eye—a barber shop’s handmade sign or uncanny sculptures in a front yard—warrants pulling over to photograph it. Connecting with the artists and people he meets on the road, often establishing long-lasting relationships and returning for multiple visits, is integral to his process.
In 2023, his solo show, Ted Degener: At Home With Artists, debuted at Intuit Art Museum in Chicago, IL. Previously, he exhibited at American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, Phyllis Kind Gallery and Houston Center for Photography. Degener is a contributing editor and staff photographer for Raw Vision Magazine and contributes to The Folk Art Messenger. His work is featured in Self Made Worlds, Souls Grown Deep and other publications.
American Celebration was his first book. His second book, American Celebration 2: Storefronts and Handmade Signs, was released in May 2026.