Little Rock – The Old State House Museum will open a new exhibit from 5:30 – 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
Disfarmer: Portraits of Rural Arkansas highlights rural Arkansas during the 1920s – 1950s through black and white portraits of Arkansans.
The opening is free to attend. The exhibit will run through June 2026.
Mike Disfarmer was a portrait photographer who quietly documented small town life in Heber Springs, Arkansas from the 1920s until the 1950s. Born Mike Meyer, he changed his name to Disfarmer as a rejection of both his heritage (“Meier” in German means “farmer”) and the farming identity that defined the region. This exhibit offers an austere view of a small Arkansas town during a time of profound change. Each portrait tells a unique story, but together they represent a community shaped by the Great Depression, World War II, and the everyday struggles of life in the rural south.