Sally Turner Munger, later known as Sally Mann, was the youngest of three children born to Robert Munger, a doctor who traveled extensively around Lexington, Virginia, often taking his family along for the ride. However, Sally's primary maternal figure was her African-American nanny, Virginia Carter, who provided daily care and companionship to Sally and her siblings.
Sally's childhood was marked by an unconventional upbringing, with her family eschewing traditional norms such as church attendance, country club memberships, and television viewing. Despite being middle-class, the Munger family was decidedly bohemian in their lifestyle.
Sally inherited her father's passion for photography and would often borrow his 5x7 camera to take pictures. Her father also gifted her a Leica camera, which she would later use in her professional career.
After graduating from the Putney School, a private boarding school in Vermont, Sally enrolled at Bennington College, where she studied photography with the renowned South African photographer and filmmaker, Norman Sieff.
Sally's early photographic works included a nude portrait of a classmate, which marked the beginning of her artistic journey. She would later marry Larry Mann, a blacksmith and trainee attorney, in 1970.
The couple's marriage was marked by Sally's continued pursuit of her artistic passion, and she went on to earn a degree in creative writing from Hollins College in 1974. She would later earn a master's degree in creative writing from the same institution in 1975.
Sally's professional career took off when she began working as an architectural photographer for Washington and Lee University, documenting the construction of the school's new law school building, Lewis Hall. This led to her first solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1977, as well as the publication of her portfolio, "Lewis Law Portfolio," the same year.
In 1979, Sally gave birth to her first child, Emmett, who would later suffer three significant brain injuries and be diagnosed with schizophrenia. She would go on to have two more children, Jessie and Virginia, in 1981 and 1985, respectively.
As an artist, Sally found a unique solution to the demands of motherhood by using her children as subjects in her work, effectively blending childcare with art. Her children would go on to appear in many of her photographs, and her work would become renowned for its intimate and poignant portrayal of family life.
