On a warm July day in 1946 photographer Edward Clark took his camera, several rolls of film, and documented “A Day in the Life of the Opry.” By the evening’s end, Mr. Clark had captured over 100 images of the Opry’s iconic characters, adoring fans, and historic scenes frozen in film through the artist’s eye.

Taking in the Ryman

Uncle Dave Macon

A Weekly Event

These five photographs from that day 78 years ago represent just just a few of the images available. Along with many others from Ed Clark amazing life in photos.

Come visit us at Interior Anthology to explore this wonderful collection.

Ed Clark’s Career as a renowned professional photographer spanned a period of 60 years, during which time he became an internationally known photojournalist. born in Nashville in 1912, Mr. Clark dropped out of high school to join the Nashville Tennessean as a staff photographer. He had never used a professional camera before, but he was “willing and cheap.” As time passed, he became the crack photographer for the Tennessean, and his pictures were being widely bought by newspapers and magazines in the U.S., the UK, Denmark, and Holland. In 1936 he became a stringer for LIFE magazine, and in 1944 he joined its staff. It was the picture of Sergeant Alvin York, World War 1 hero, enlisting for service that caught the eye of LIFE editors. They ran the photograph for two pages, invited him to Washington, gave him a few assignments, and offered him a job. Clark initially turned it down as he did not want to leave Nashville, but he began freelancing regularly for LIFE. Eighteen months later he joined LIFE’s photographic staff, where he worked for 22 years. During that time, his assignments took him to Beverly Hills, Paris, Moscow, London, and Washington D.C. Mr. Clark returned to Nashville in the late 1980’s, and he died in 2000.