Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Mark Bailey attended the University of Oregon, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography in 1979. He studied architecture, fine arts, and graphic design while receiving mentorship from design theorist David Foster and photographer Bernard Freemesser. His father was a ceramics professor in California.
He worked as a contractor and woodworker, residing in Portland, Oregon for thirty-five years. He now lives on the northern Oregon Coast. As an Oregon photographer, Bailey's interest in documentary photography led to the completion of three documentary projects undertaken between 1974-1980. During this time he focused on capturing the people and places of Junction City, Oregon, "Luckey's Club Cigar" of Eugene, Oregon, and Valsetz, Oregon.
Bailey's work has been featured in a number of Oregon publications, such as The Oregonian, Oregonian Northwest Magazine, and Willamette Week. In addition to being featured in the Oregon Committee for the Humanities' history project for Valsetz, Oregon, his work has also been acknowledged by the Oregon Arts Commission and is in the permanent collections of the Oregon State Capitol.
Source: Bailey, Mark. 2018. "Bid of Intentions." Correspondence with the University of Oregon's Special Collections and University Archives.
The Mark Bailey photograph collection consists of three photographic documentary series taken during 1974-1980. The collection is arranged in three series by location: Junction City, Oregon, "Luckey's Club Cigar" of Eugene, Oregon, and Valsetz, Oregon.
The subject matter of the prints includes candid portraits of individuals from the farming and lumber town communities of Junction City and Valsetz, Oregon. Portraits feature local residents, loggers, farmers, laborers, women, youth, and business owners. Additional subject matter for these locations includes rural landscapes, farmlife, lumberyard, local dwellings, and buildings. Photographs of Luckey's Club Cigar of Eugene, Oregon feature candid portraits of bar patrons as well as documentary photographs of the business's beer bar, pool hall, card room, barbershop, and shoeshine. One photo in the series depicts the demolition of the building.
There are 139 original black and white silver gelatin prints that vary in size and are mounted on 13 x 15" boards with window mats. The materials are housed in 4 flat boxes measuring 19 x 15" and arranged in their original order established by the photographer.