Career
Edwards was Curator of Prints & Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1959 until 1970, responsible for the significant collection of photographs there. He was the first person to offer a solo show to major photographers such as Robert Frank, Raymond Moore, and many others Edwards struggled to curate in a cramped gallery space and without the financial resources even 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 January Saudek, Duane Michals, Algimantas Kezys, Danny Lyon and many others
Edwards was also a photographer. During the 1950s he worked on a decade-long project to document a roller rink.
He ceased photographing in 1961.