Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016 is History

Good-bye 2016. Hello 2017.


"All of us live in history, whether we are aware of it or not, and die in drama. The sense of history and of drama comes to a man not because of who he is or what he does, but flickeringly, as he is caught up in events, as his personality reacts, as he sees for a moment his place in the great flowing river of time and humanity.

I cannot tell you where our history is leading us, or through what suffering, or into what era of war or peace. But wherever it is, I know men of good heart will be passing there."



Saturday, December 24, 2016

Peace, Love, and Happiness






Peace, love, and happiness

in the New  Year.



Thank you for your continued encouragement and support.




We look forward to seeing you in the gallery soon, or visit us

during the Photo LA Fair in Los Angeles January 12 - 15;

 at the AIPAD Photography Show in New York March 30 - April 2;

or on-line anytime.





 Art Shay: Harmony in Snow, Des Plaines, Illinois, 1955

Monday, December 19, 2016

HAPPY 94TH BIRTHDAY TONY VACCARO!


Newly liberated women in Nante, along the North bank of the Loire River, celebrate their freedom, Nante, France, July, 1944


We are very proud to wish Tony Vaccaro the happiest of birthdays on the 94th anniversary of his birth!

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1922, Tony Vaccaro spent the first years of his life in the village of Bonefro, Italy after his family left America under threat from the Mafia. Both of his parents had died by the time he was eight years old and he was raised by an uncaring aunt. When World War II broke out, the American Ambassador in Rome ordered Tony to return to the States. He settled in with his sisters in New Rochelle, NY where he joined his high school camera club.

A year later, at the age of 21, Tony was drafted into the war, and by the spring of 1944 he was photographing war games in Wales. By June, now a combat infantryman in the 83rd Infantry Division, he was on a boat heading toward Omaha Beach, six days after the first landings at Normandy. Denied access to the Signal Corps, Tony was determined to photograph the war, and had his portable 35mm Argus C-3 with him from the start. For the next 272 days, Tony fought on the front lines of the war. He entered Germany in December 1944, a private in the Intelligence Platoon, tasked with going behind enemy lines at night. In the years after the war, Tony remained in Germany to photograph the rebuilding of the country for Stars And Stripes magazine. Returning to the States in 1950, Tony started his career as a commercial photographer, eventually working for virtually every major publication: Flair, Look, Life, Venture, Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, Quick, Newsweek, and many more. Tony went on to become one the most sought after photographers of his day.

On November 14. 2016 HBO Films premiered “Under Fire: The Untold Story of Private First Class Tony Vaccaro”. The film tells the story of how Tony survived the war, fighting the enemy while also documenting his experience at great risk, developing his photos in combat helmets at night and hanging the negatives from tree branches. The film also encompasses a wide range of contemporary issues regarding combat photography such as the ethical challenges of witnessing and recording conflict, the ways in which combat photography helps to define how wars are perceived by the public, and the sheer difficulty of staying alive while taking photos in a war zone. The film is available on demand from HBO.

Tony's remarkable oeuvre was exhibited in the Pop Up "War, Peace, Beauty" exhibit in New York November 14 - 21. Watch the official video of Tony's retrospective (courtesy of Astfilm.de).

Monroe Gallery will feature a selection of Tony Vaccaro's  photographs at the 26th annual Photo LA Fair, January 12 - 15, at the Reef/LA Mart. The Gallery will also exhibit Tony's photographs, including rare vintage prints, at the AIPAD Photography Show March 30 - April 2 at Pier 94 in New York.



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

John Loengard's Book "Moment by Moment" featured in The Guardian


Via The Guardian


John Loengard: Georgia O’Keeffe on the roof of her home at
Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, in 1967


John Loengard was formerly both a staff photographer and the picture editor of Life magazine, and in the preface to his new book says that ‘a good photograph cannot be repeated’. Moment by Moment published by Thames & Hudson contains 133 images from his career spanning five decades.

Full slide show.


View more of John Loengard's photographs on our website here.




Tuesday, December 13, 2016

"Harry Benson: Shoot First" at CCA in Santa Fe




Via Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

Renowned photographer Harry Benson initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having been assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. With unprecedented “behind the scenes” access, Benson captured some of the most vibrant and intimate portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. His extensive portfolio includes iconic images of Winston Churchill, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, Greta Garbo, Michael Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and his work has appeared in publications including Life, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Justin Bare and Matthew Miele’s film shows how Benson, now 86, shows no intention of stopping. (U.S., 2016, 87m, Magnolia Pictures) Starts December 16


Center for Contemporary Arts • 505.982.1338
1050 Old Pecos Trail Santa Fe, NM 87505

Streaming information here.

Related: Washington Post: ‘Harry Benson: Shoot First’ breezes through the photographer’s story

  Rolling Stone: 'Harry Benson: Shoot First' Review: Photographer Doc Is Stellar Portrait of an Artist

Monday, December 12, 2016

Stephen Wilkes' "Yosemite, Day to Night" Among National Geographic's "Best Photos of 2016"



National Geographic recently announced their "Best Photos of 2016".    In a  gallery of National Geographic's 52 best images of the year—curated from 91 photographers, 107 stories, and 2,290,225 photographs. Stephen Wilkes' photograph of Yosemite, Day To Night, was included as selection #29:




On a mountainside in Yosemite National Park, photographer Stephen Wilkes took 1,036 images over 26 hours to create this day-to-night composite.

This photo was originally published in "How National Parks Tell Our Story—and Show Who We Are," in January 2016.

View Stephen Wilkes' full Day To Night Collection here.


Related: See our full compilation of 2016 lists of the "Best" of all things photography here.