A great uncle had fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War, taking a family slave to act as valet, and fighting in the Battle of Shiloh.
[3] In many cases, Edwards led the Art Institute to be the first museum to offer a solo show to young photographers who later became important in the field, such as Robert Frank, Raymond Moore, and others.
Edwards struggled to curate in the small, cramped gallery space and without the financial resources to produce accompanying exhibition catalogs.
But in the years before the art world's acceptance of photography, Edwards offered vital support and encouragement to many emerging photographers, including Jan Saudek, Duane Michals, Algimantas Kezys, Danny Lyon and others.
"[2] Edwards was also a practicing photographer; during the 1950s he worked on a decade-long project to document the people of a roller rink in Harvey, Illinois.