Legendary photographer Tony Vaccaro to speak at the Pollock-Krasner House, exhibit in Santa Fe

Willem de Kooning, standing in front of Leo Castelli's house, protecting a statue that Castelli himself had made in his driveway. Jackson Pollock disliked it and had threatened to run it over. East Hampton, 1953. By Tony Vaccaro.


Legendary photographer Tony Vaccaro will speak at the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, Sunday, May 28, 2017, at 5:00 pm, for the official opening and reception for the exhibit "East End Art World, August 1953, Photographs by Tony Vaccaro."

The exhibition of unpublished photographs has been up since May 4, and features twenty photographs selected by museum director Helen A. Harrison from eleven rolls of film found among Vaccaro's 450,000 negatives and transparencies. Maria Vaccaro, Tony's daughter-in-law, and Grace Ann Taylor, an NYU graduate student specializing in archiving, have both been working on the project for the Tony Vaccaro Studio, Long Island City, for nearly seven months.

Rare images of Tino Nivola, Leo Castelli, Alfonso Ossorio, and Wilfrid Zogbaum, make up some of the new finds. All the photographs on display are for sale, and some may eventually be part of limited editions. Remembering the visit, the 94-year old Mr. Vaccaro says:

“I went to the Hamptons because I was intrigued by Jackson’s work. It just grabbed me. I  knew it was the kind of work that would last forever. I also liked Marcel Duchamp. I had  photographed him on the streets of New York City in 1952. He told me ‘Many artists are  moving to the Hampton’s.’ I also knew Tino Nivola. We spoke Italian when we bumped  into each other on 8th Street. Nivola told me: ‘Many artists are setting up studios on Long  Island. It’s cheaper than New York City. So I kept telling Look Magazine art director  Charlotte Willard that this was a job that had to be done. In the Spring of 1953, Look  editor Fleur Cowles assigned me and Miss Willard to spend a week there. Willard went back to New York City after the week was up. I stayed an entire month.”

The Pollock-Krasner House is located at 830 Springs-Fireplace Road, East Hampton, NY, 11937.

The Sag Harbor Express covered the exhibition:
http://sagharborexpress.com/photographer-witness-revolution/

The Pollock-Krasner House press release:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/pkhouse/exhibitions.php

Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to announce a major exhibition of more than 50 photographs by Tony Vaccaro at the Santa Fe Gallery this summer. The exhibit opens with a public reception for Tony Vaccaro on Friday, June 30 from 5 – 7 PM. The exhibit will continue through September 17, 2017.

 

"exhibition currently on view at Monroe Gallery in Santa Fe, pays tribute to one of the most acclaimed photojournalists of the last century"

Grey Villet, A portrait of LIFE in America

May 15, 2017 -

United States , written by L'Oeil de la Photographie

Fidel Castro, Hometown Greetings, 1959 ©Grey Villet

Born in South Africa, Grey Villet traveled America and the world for LIFE magazine like an observant explorer, mapping its emotional contours in the faces and lives of its people. His in-depth, personal studies of the American scene of the 1950s through the 1970’s illuminated the complex reality of those years with a truth that, in his own words, were “as real as real could get.” His images of presidents and revolutionaries, sports heroes, and everyday people struggling for their rights tell an emotional and compelling story of an era that shaped the present. This exhibition currently on view at Monroe Gallery in Santa Fe, pays tribute to one of the most acclaimed photojournalists of the last century.

Slideshow here.



Grey Villet, A portrait of LIFE in America
May 5 — June 25, 2017
Monroe Gallery
112 Don Gaspar Ave
Santa Fe, NM 87501
USA

http://www.monroegallery.com/

GREY VILLET: A Portrait of LIFE in America

Farm Collapse: Sarah Vogel, leader of class-action case on behalf of 240,000 farmers to stop USDA from seizing family farms, visiting neighbors who are facing foreclosure, North Dakota, 1982

Santa Fe--Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, is honored to announce an extensive exhibition of compelling photography of LIFE magazine photographer Grey Villet. The exhibition runs from May 5 through June 30.

Born in South Africa, Grey Villet traveled America and the world for LIFE magazine like an observant explorer, mapping its emotional contours in the faces and lives of its people. His in-depth, personal studies of the American scene of the 1950s through the 1970’s illuminated the complex reality of those years with a truth that, in his own words, were "as real as real could get." His images of presidents and revolutionaries, sports heroes, and everyday people struggling for their rights tell an emotional and compelling story of an era that shaped the present.

Fidel Castro, Hometown Greetings, 1959

Grey Villet was born in a sheep herding center called Beaufort West in the Karoo desert of South Africa in 1927. His father expected him to follow him into medicine and Grey was duly enrolled in the pre-med program at Cape Town University.  It didn't take; he spent most of his time at a cafe downtown where there was music and a lot of smoke...At about this time his sister's fiancé gave him a camera and that did take...It was the excitement of seeing his own pictures emerge in a friend's   dark room that set the course of his life.  By the late 1940's, his despairing father sent him to London to study photography---but after a few months Grey left school to earn a meager living doing wedding snaps while living in a trucker's stop hostel. At 20 he landed a job on the Bristol Evening News--and within 2 years had moved up to Reuters International in London on the strength of his newspaper work. At 24 he returned to South Africa and a job at the country's leading newspaper, the Johannesburg Star--but the pomposity of management's objection to his disheveled look after a night of chasing a rough news story decided his future. Already determined to become a "magazine photographer" he quit the Star on the spot and soon set off for New York hoping to land a chance at LIFE. So it was that Grey's Villet’s career with LIFE magazine began in April of 1954. Within a year of being added to LIFE’s legendary roster of photographers in 1955, he won photojournalism’s most prestigious award when he was named Magazine Photographer of the Year. Other honors followed, including multiple firsts from NPPA and Gold from World Press Photo.

Villet excelled at LIFE’s acclaimed essay format, which exemplified his mastery of the medium, attesting to his credo that every story be, in his words, "as real as real could get". To achieve this, he generally used only available light and while shooting became as unobtrusive as a "fly on the wall" to allow meaningful moments to emerge naturally from a fluid reality.  

Featured in the exhibition are excerpts from Villet's intimate images of the interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. The 2016 film “Loving” Loving”, from acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols starred Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga in the roles of Richard and Mildred Loving. 

“Unwilling to promote himself, Grey Villet modestly rejected the idea of organizing his own retrospective only months before his sudden death in 2000. “The work will tell” he told me then, “the work will tell.” Self effacing, quiet, Grey was truly a quintessential photojournalist in the service of truth.” -- Barbara Villet

In an era before any digital tinkering with results was possible, Grey Villet’s technique was one that required intense concentration, patience and understanding of his subjects joined with a technical mastery that allowed rapid use of differing cameras and lenses to capture and compose the "right stuff" on film as it happened. “RIGHTS, RACE & REVOLUTIONS:A Portrait of LIFE in 1960s America by Grey Villet” was exhibited at the Museum at Bethel Woods April 2 – December 31, 2016. 

THE LOVINGS: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT, a new book that documents the extraordinary love story of Mildred and Richard Loving, was published in April by Princeton Architectural Press and is available in the gallery.

O'Keeffe on Camera: Capturing an American Icon

Via the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Get insider views of Georgia O’Keeffe. Join us for a conversation with a filmmaker and three photographers who worked closely with the artist and made images of her. Participants include filmmaker Perry Miller Adato and photographers Christopher Makos, Tony Vaccaro, and Malcolm Varon. Moderated by Wanda Corn, guest curator of Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern.

Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to represent the photography of Tony Vaccaro. The gallery will present a major retrospective exhibition of Tony's work June 30 - September 17, 2017. Tony Vaccaro, now 94, will be present at the opening Friday, June 30, from 5 to 7 pm.

STEVE SCHAPIRO: EYEWITNESS CONTINUES THROUGH APRIL 30

Steve Schapiro

On the road, Selma March, 1965

The current exhibition Steve Schapiro: Eyewitness continues through April 30 in the gallery.

The Guardian newspaper featured Schapiro's forthcoming book today in a feature article, link here.

"But before mobile phone videos and Twitter allowed black Americans to directly telegraph their plight to the world, it was up to photojournalism to visualise the message, as Schapiro’s images did in Life magazine."

And the New York Times featured the cover photograph, "CORE Stall In, 1964" from the exhibition announcement in their review of the AIPAD Photography Show last week.

"Steve Schapiro’s astounding “CORE ‘Stall In,’ New York World’s Fair 1964,” at the Monroe Gallery of Photography, which documents a vehicular protest of racism.”

HAPPY 95th BIRTHDAY ART SHAY!

"I took this street montage near 26th and California Ave. in Chicago. It’s a lovely accident, created by a mis-wound Super Ikonta B. The Super Ikonta B's main feature was an 80mm lens that focused through a range finder and you focused it by turning around one element.  I was playing around with the camera because I thought it was peculiar that it took 11 shots on a roll.  I shot this, essentially four frame, montage while shooting out my 1949 Pontiac car window. “ Art Shay, March 30, 2017

We are extremely proud to wish Art Shay a very Happy 95th birthday! Visit us in booth # 534 during the AIPAD Photography Show this week in New York to see his acclaimed photographs!

Art Shay is an American photographer and writer. Born March 31,1922, he grew up in the Bronx and then served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, during which he flew 52 bomber missions. Shay joined the staff of Life magazine as a writer, and quickly became a Chicago-based freelance photographer for Life, Time, Sports Illustrated, and other national publications. He photographed seven US Presidents and many major figures of the 20th century. Shay also wrote weekly columns for various newspapers, several plays, children's books, sports instruction books and several photo essay books. Shay's photography is in permanent collections of major museums including the National Portrait Gallery and The Art Institute of Chicago.

New York Times review of the 2017 AIPAD Photography Show

Extremely honored to have the lead photograph in Friday’s New York Times review of the AIPAD2017 Photography Show: “Aipad’s Photography Show Grows Up”.

“Steve Schapiro’s astounding “CORE ‘Stall In,’ New York World’s Fair 1964,” at the Monroe Gallery of Photography, which documents a vehicular protest of racism.”

Hope you can visit us at Pier 94 through Sunday, booth #534. The exhibit Steve Schapiro:Eyewitness continues through April 30 at Monroe Gallery in Santa Fe.

THE AIPAD 2017 PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW

March 30-April 2, 2017

Monroe Gallery of Photography Booth # 534
     Pier 94 | New York City

TicketsPurchase Show and Vernissage tickets online for the best value and to avoid lines.

PURCHASE

Photographs made by Ashley Gilbertson of the refugee crisis in Greece, the Balkans, and Germany while on assignment for UNICEF in 2015 at Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, are among the fine examples of photojournalism on view. --ArtFix Daily

DON HUNSTEIN 1928 - 2017

Don Hunstein: Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo, New York, 1963

Don Hunstein died at home on Saturday morning, March 18, aged 88, after a long illness .

New York Times Obituary: Don Hunstein, Who Photographed Great Musicians, Dies at 88

Lebrecht Music&Arts have put out an obituary.

“I have photographed the famous and the not so famous: business execs and athletes and especially musicians – jazz, classical and pop. The resulting pictures have appeared on over 200 LP and CD covers and on promotional flyers and press kits, in magazines and company reports and advertising.”

--Don Hunstein

Don Hunstein’s iconic photographs have become symbols of an era. In the history of music photography, Don’s work during his 30 years at Columbia records is unsurpassed in its scope and breadth. Through his subtle humor and quiet nature, he was able to record many great moments in music history. He photographed the famous and the not so famous. Hundreds of album covers and behind the scenes work. His photographs documented a rare time when musicians spent time on their art, rather than their publicity.

Don Hunstein grew up in St. Louis, MO and attended Washington University, graduating in 1950 with a degree in English. After college he enlisted in the US Air Force and was stationed in Fairford, England, and assigned a desk job. It was this assignment that allowed him to travel around Europe. He began photographing casually, taking pictures to send home to his family, and then with the help of a Leica M3 purchased in the PX, and inspired by a book of renowned street photographer Henri Cartier Bresson’s work, his hobby began to take him on a lifelong path. After a year in Fairford, Don was transferred to a base outside of London.  There he joined a local camera club and took evening classes at London’s Central School of Art and Design, becoming influenced by the artists and designers whom he met there.

He returned to the States in 1954, ending up in New York City, where he eventually landed an apprenticeship in a commercial photography studio. There he honed his photography skills by mastering large format cameras and lighting.  At the time, photography was, as Don put it: “ not a glamorous profession,” but he didn’t have a pull in any other vocational direction and it satisfied his creative side. As chance connections were made, he soon met and became mentored by Deborah Ishlon, who worked in the publicity department at Columbia Records. She offered him a job helping her run the photo library there and supplying prints to the press. As he began to take his own photos for the company, they recognized his talent, and he gradually worked his way into the position of Director of Photography for CBS Records

Don’s most notable role was as chief staff photographer for Columbia Records during its heyday in the realms of rock and roll, jazz and classical music. Fortunately for Don, this was a time when the company was under the direction of Goddard Lieberson, who thought it important to document in photographs the cultural history of the music of their time. So he had the opportunity to do far more than album covers and publicity shots, covering their recording sessions and even visiting them on their home turf.   Don had the ability to listen with his camera. Instinctively he understood that to capture artists at their best moments, patience, trust and humility were needed.  This ability to set both new comers and experienced stars at ease in his presence is evident in his photographs, which captured the intimate personal moments as well as the quintessential portraits.

Don’s access to a broad range of musicians, in a wide variety of musical styles, was unparalleled in the photographic world. Over the course of his career at CBS, he shot hundreds of album covers and documented the recording of many of the great albums in music history.

We were tremendously fortunate to have known Don for many years, and send our condolences to DeeAnn and  his family

Tony Vaccaro on Panel at Brooklyn Museum for "Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern" Exhibit

Tony Vaccaro: Georgia O'Keeffe for LOOK magazine, New Mexico, 1960

This Sunday, March 19, Tony Vaccaro will make an appearance at the Brooklyn Museum in a panel discussion about Georgia O'Keeffe. The program kicks off the museum's "Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern" exhibit at 2:00 pm in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium on the third floor.

Fifty-seven years ago Look Magazine sent Tony and writer Charlotte Willard to Taos, New Mexico, for a feature length article on this adventurous modernist painter. O'Keeffe put the two into private rooms on her "Ghost Ranch" for one week.

But Tony has no photographs from the first two days. O'Keeffe expected another photographer to accompany Willard and when she saw Tony, she gave him the cold shoulder. He politely kept his camera by his side. He fixed her clothes washer, leveled and set the drapes, and gave the cook a few days off by preparing amazing dinners: penne, sausage, and broccoli, and bistecca fiorentina. Then, one night, O'Keeffe asked Willard if she knew anything about bullfighting. Willard didn't, but Tony said, "I knew the great Manolete. I took his photo." O'Keeffe swiveled in her chair at the head of the table and faced Tony with twenty questions about the bullfighting master. O'Keeffe then ignored Willard completely. By noon the next day, Willard left for New York alone. Tony stayed on for the week and took ten rolls of film.

Tony became O'Keeffe's personal chauffeur over the second half of his visit, and he had his camera ready pre-focused on O'Keeffe and kept one eye on her in the mirror. One day, a desert cloudburst forced them to picnic in the car. When O'Keeffe looked at the world through her Swiss cheese, Tony lifted the camera and shot.

Tony Vaccaro

Tony Vaccaro's photographs of Georgia O'Keeffe will be included with many of his other iconic photographs in an exhibit during the AIPAD Photography Show, Monroe Gallery of Photography, booth #534, March 30 - April 2 at Pier Tony, now 94,  will be present in the booth, please contact the gallery to confirm times.