Alice Wingwall

Alice Wingwall
Born
Alice Atkinson

(1935-09-05)September 5, 1935
DiedFebruary 13, 2026(2026-02-13) (aged 90)
EducationIndiana University
University of California, Berkeley
OccupationsPhotographer, sculptor
Spouse
​
(m. 1963)​

Alice Wingwall (née Atkinson; September 5, 1935 – February 13, 2026) was an American photographer and sculptor. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a young woman, she was legally blind for the last 26 years of her life.[1]

Early life and career

Wingwall was born Alice Atkinson in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 5, 1935, one of four children. She was raised in Zionsville.[2] She studied at Indiana University and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963. Wingwall later taught at the University of Oregon and then became a professor and the director of the studio arts program at Wellesley College.[3][4] She changed her surname to "Wingwall" in 1980, having been inspired by a street shrine on a Roman building with a stone cherub who seemed to be pulling the building forward despite having lost one of her wings.[1] She additionally studied at the École du Louvre, the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, the Atelier del Debbio and, with a grant from the Danish government, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.[5] She is a member of the Blind Photographers’ Guild alongside Pete Eckert and Bruce Hall.[6]

In 1991, Wingwall created the outdoor fountain and sculpture Cascade Charley, which is currently installed on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. In 2000, she edited a short film, Miss Blindsight/The Wingwall Auditions, alongside Wendy Snyder MacNeil. The film won the Best Independent Film of the Year award at that year's New England Film and Video Festival.[5] In 2015, Wingwall appeared alongside her husband in Erinnisse and Patryk Rebisz's documentary Shoulder the Lion.[7]

Wingwall's work has been included in the California Museum of Photography's Sight Unseen exhibition and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive's Blind at the Museum show.[5] In 2005, her exhibit Portrait Selves was shown at UC Berkeley's Townsend Center for the Humanities.[8] Wingwall's exhibit Beyond All That, created in collaboration with Suzan Friedland and Lis Gladstone, has additionally been shown at the Gualala Arts Center in Mendocino County, California.[9]

Personal life

Wingwall was married to architect Donlyn Lyndon in 1963; they had three children.[10] She died on February 13, 2026.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 DelVecchio, Rick. "Berkeley: Blind photographer's vision extends beyond her eyes". sfgate.com. SFGate. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Alice Wingwall obituary". San Francisco Chronicle. February 25, 2026. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Tinkering Tinkerers: Alice Wingwall". exploratorium.edu. Exploratorium. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ Sosa, Anabel. "Spotlight". alumni.berkeley.edu. Cal Alumni Association. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Smithson, Aline. "ALICE WINGWALL: A PHOTOGRAPHER WHO HAPPENS TO BE BLIND". lenscratch.com. Lenscratch. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Blind Photographers' Guild". visualsummit.com. Bruce Hall. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "DVD screening of documentary, Q&A with Director, Erinnisse Rebisz, Director of Photography, Patryk Rebisz, and local residents Alice Wingwall and Donlyn Lyndon". gualalaarts.org. Gualala Arts Center. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Portrait Selves". townsendcenter.berkeley.edu. Townsend Center for the Humanities. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Beyond All That: Alice Wingwall, Suzan Friedland and Lis Gladstone Present An Exciting New Exhibit". gualalaarts.org. Gualala Arts Center. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  10. ↑ Green, Penelope (May 5, 2026). "Donlyn Lyndon, Last Surviving Creator of the Sea Ranch, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2026.