Carl Mydans and the Alley Dwellers of Washington, D.C., 1935

Carl Mydans: Slums near the Capitol, Washington, D.C. With the Capitol clearly in view, these houses exist under the most unsanitary conditions; outside privies, no inside water supply and overcrowded conditions. 1935

We just became aware of this excellent post on Washington's alleys and the people who lived in them in 1935, and are pleased to share it with you.

Carl Mydans & the Alley Dwellers of Washington, D.C., 1935
 copyright John Edwin Mason


"My mother was still in high school, when Carl Mydans photographed her neighborhood -- Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. At the time, Mydans was attached to the federal government's Resettlement Administration [RA] and was there to investigate conditions in the city's slums. Talented and ambitious, he would soon leave the RA, join the staff of Life magazine, and go on to become one of the best known photojournalists of the twentieth century.

Mydans wasn't looking for families like my mother's. Although her parents had fallen on hard times, like so many other people during the Great Depression, they remained proud of their respectability and fiercely determined to see that their children attained the middle-class status that had been snatched out of their grasp. They believed that education and hard work were the keys to success, and, sure enough, they were just that for all of their children. But there was another reason for Mydans to ignore my mother's family. They lived on a street, not in an alley."

Read the full article here, complete with numerous Mydans' photographs.

Carl Mydans: Slum backyard water supply, Washington, D.C. Backyard typical to a group of houses very close to the House office building, showing only available water supply. 1935.

Related: Carl Mydans: The Early Years

Trove of John F. Kennedy Photos Sold for Over $150,000 at Auction in New York City

President John F. Kennedy being visited by his children Caroline and John Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington during October 1962. AP Photo/Bonhams, Cecil Stoughton

Via The Art Daily:

By: Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press


NEW YORK (AP).- A trove of John F. Kennedy pictures by White House photographer Cecil Stoughton (STOW'-tuhn) fetched over $150,000 at a New York City auction. It included a rare image of Marilyn Monroe with the president and Robert Kennedy at a Democratic fundraiser.

The collection of 12,000 photographs was estimated to bring in $200,000. It was offered by Stoughton's estate at Bonhams auction house Thursday.

The Monroe image, contained in an envelope labeled "Sensitive Material — May 19, 1962," sold for just over $9,000. The price included the buyers premium and was above its presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.

"It's the only image of the three of them together," said Matthew Haley, Bonhams' expert for books, manuscripts and historical photographs. "There are very few prints of this photo." (Please contact Monroe Gallery of Photography for details)

Stoughton was the first official White House photographer. He captured public as well as intimate Kennedy moments. About 60 percent of the images are of public events. The rest are of private moments: the children's birthday parties, family Christmases, and vacations in Hyannis Port, Mass.

One of Stoughton's most famous images shows Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in aboard Air Force One following Kennedy's assassination Nov. 22, 1963. The photo shows Johnson with his hand raised taking the oath of office surrounded by his wife and Jacqueline Kennedy still wearing her blood-splattered dress.

"It is one of the most iconic images of the 20th century," said Haley.

Johnson signed it: "To Cecil Stoughton, with high regards and appreciation, Lyndon B. Johnson."

In the immediate chaotic aftermath of the assassination, Stoughton learned that Johnson was being sworn in on the aircraft on a Dallas airfield and rushed over in a car, said Haley. As he was running across the tarmac, "the Secret Service thought it was another assassination attempt and almost fired at him," he said.

Haley said Stoughton's camera jammed just as Johnson was about to be sworn in but he gave it a good shake and it starting working again.

The Monroe picture with the two Kennedy brothers was saved from being destroyed by the Secret Service. It was taken at a private Manhattan residence right after the actress infamously sang "Happy Birthday" to the president at Madison Square Garden in a simmering tight dress.

Haley said, "There apparently was a directive to the Secret Service that Monroe not be photographed with the president."

He said agents visited Stoughton's darkroom afterward and removed some negatives but overlooked the one of the threesome because it was in a tray being washed.

Among the more intimate photos of the Kennedy family is one from 1962 that shows the president sitting in a chair near his desk in the Oval Office while his children, Caroline and John-John, dance before him. It's inscribed by Kennedy: "Captain Stoughton — who captured beautifully a happy moment at the White House, John F. Kennedy."

Related: 48 YEARS AGO: MARILYN MONROE SINGS "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" TO PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

             Marilyn Monroe, Kennedys Recalled in White House Archive Sale

SPECIAL HOLIDAY BOOK SIGNING AND EXHIBIT WITH JOE McNALLY

Joe McNally: Water Polo Boys, (U.S. Water Polo Team, Long Beach, California) 1996


We are pleased and excited to welcome Joe McNally for a very special book signing and exhibition. We will celebrate Friday, December 17, from 5 to 7 PM with a public reception during which Joe will sign copies of his newest book: The LIFE Guide to Digital Photography: Everything You Need To Shoot Like The Pros (256 pages; $29.95). A special selection of Joe's photographs will be on exhibit through January 30, 2011.

Just in time for the holidays, Joe McNally, one of LIFE's master shooters and the most recent in a long line of distinguished LIFE staff photographers, has prepared a fool-proof guide that covers tips of the trade; step-by-step instruction on focusing, lighting and composition; and features photos from his personal portfolio.

In The LIFE Guide to Digital Photography, McNally walks readers carefully through the do's and don'ts of shooting digital and concentrates on five fundamentals: light, the lens, design elements, color, and composition. He offers his expert advice on everything from shooting fireworks and family portraits, to telling a story with texture to choosing color or not — framing all discussions with his own personal experiences as a photographer.

Joe says: “The LIFE Guide is just that–a guide. It can take a newbie right from opening the box containing the new digital picture machine right through composition, light, lenses, and color.

I wrote this book for my alma mater, LIFE magazine. What a long strange trip photography is. I shot my first job for the magazine in 1984, and managed somehow to survive editor changes, shifts in format, style, and even the change of the physical size of the magazine to keep shooting for them right through the nineties. Just about 1995 they asked me to become their first staffer in 23 years, which also meant I became the last staff photographer in the history of the magazine, as it is no longer publishing. As I always point out, being the last in a series of 90 staff shooters at this illustrious picture magazine probably means that someone writing the history of this field will probably associate my name with the death of photojournalism :-)" --Joe McNally

Joe McNally: Rooftop Ballerina (Nadia Grachevo, Prima Ballerina), Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow, 1997

Please join us Friday, December 17 for a holiday book signing with Joe McNally, along with a very special exhibit of his photography, during a reception from 5 - 7 PM. Or contact the gallery now to reserve a signed copy. Also be sure to check out Joe's highly acclaimed workshops, including his Santa Fe Workshop.




Related: Joe McNally: Faces of Ground Zero

Joe McNally: Faces of Ground Zero: Louie Cacchioli, Firefighter, Engine 47, FDNY, 2001

MAJOR PHOTOGRAPHY FAIRS OF 2011

We have previously reported on the just-completed Paris Photo, Art Miami, and Art Basel Miami. As we near 2011, the attention turns to two venerable photography fairs: Photo LA and The AIPAD Photography Show in New York.

The 20th Anniversary edition of Photo LA, the longest-running photography fair West of New York City, will take place January 13 - 17, during the long Golden Globes weekend. It brings together photography dealers from around the globe, displaying the finest contemporary photography, video and multi-media installations along with masterworks from the 19th century to an audience of more than 10,000 attendees.

This year, artLA projects has joined with Photo LA, which returns to the historic Santa Monica Civic with an added 7,000 square foot tented canopy entry. This grand entrance provides space for sculpture, installations, book signings and seating. Attendees will enjoy an expansive lobby that includes a Phaidon bookstore, seating area, café, coffee bar and cupcake corner. Photo LA is proud to host the benefit preview reception for the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography at LACMA on the evening of January 13th from 6 - 9pm. Programming includes off site events, collecting seminars, a panel discussion, Troubled Waters, on photography’s impact on environmental issues and The La Brea Matrix Project, in addition to lectures by Uta Barth, Lyle Ashton Harris, Michael Light, Andrew Moore, and David Taylor among others. Monroe Gallery looks forward to seeing all of our friends at this special anniversary edition of Photo LA!

Review LA, presented by CENTER,  will take place simultaneous to the 20th Annual Photo LA.

One of the most important international photography events, The AIPAD Photography Show New York, will be presented by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) from March 17 through 20, 2011. More than 70 of the world’s leading fine art photography galleries will present a wide range of museum-quality work including contemporary, modern and 19th century photographs, as well as photo-based art, video and new media, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The 31st edition of The AIPAD Photography Show New York will open with a Gala Preview on March 16 to benefit the John Szarkowski Fund, an endowment for photography acquisitions at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The AIPAD Photography Show New York is the longest running and foremost exhibition of fine art photography.


“Photography has been less affected by the recession than other parts of the art world,” said Stephen Bulger, President, AIPAD, and President, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto. “As a result, photography remains a growing market. Now more than ever, AIPAD is a must-do show for collectors, and clearly is the best show for photography in North America.”

Exhibitors

A wide range of the world’s leading fine art photography galleries will exhibit at The AIPAD Photography Show New York. In addition to galleries from New York City and across the country, a number of international galleries will be featured. 

Exhibition Highlights

Deborah Bell Photographs, New York, will show black-and-white photographs by Andy Warhol (c. 1981-86). These are photographs that precede the stitched or sewn photographic composites and are primarily formal studies taken from street life, providing insight into "Andy's eye." Gary Edwards Gallery, Washington, DC, will show a portrait of Chairman Mao from 1963 by an unknown Xinhua Agency photographer. The portrait is said to have been printed in over 100 million copies. It is the basis of the gigantic portrait hanging on Tiananmen Gate, facing Tiananmen Square in Beijing; and Andy Warhol’s Mao screenprints of 1972 are based on this photograph, as well.

New work by Abelardo Morell will be on view at Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, including images of a landscape in Florence and a rooftop view of the Brooklyn Bridge made with a camera obscura. Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, will bring work by Annie Leibovitz, Lillian Bassman, Sebastiao Salgado, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Galería Vasari, Buenos Aires, will show the work of photographers, such as Annemarie Heinrich and Juan Di Sandro, who immigrated to Argentina between the 1930s and ‘50s. Originally from Europe, they belonged to a generation that had been trained at the most refined avant-garde schools and there is no doubt of their fundamental role in the development of modern photography in Argentina.

Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, will show work by the vibrant young Japanese artist Sohei Nishino (born 1982). This will be the first time his work has been shown in the United States. Nishino’s Diorama Map series is an ongoing project to map the world's great cities using his unique process of photography and collage. After an intense month of shooting thousands of photographs on black-and-white film from hundreds of locations across the city, he spends several months developing, printing, cutting, pasting and arranging of the re-imagined city into a huge photographic collage. The final piece is re-shot using a large format camera to create a single grand photographic print.

Niko Luoma is one of the leading professors at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki, and is an integral part of the Helsinki School. His series of abstract C-prints are inspired by nature in flux, every day events, chaos, chance, and time. Luoma uses a simple mathematical system in exposing negative space and composing each work based on ideas of symmetry. The photographs will be on view at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York.

Fiona Pardington's large-scale photographs in her series Ahua: A Beautiful Hesitation document the sculptures of indigenous peoples encountered during French explorer Dumont d'Urville's 1837 voyage to the South Pacific and will be on view at Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

Monroe Gallery will be located in Booth #417. We will be bringing significant examples of important 20th Century photojournalism, new work from Stephen Wilkes' "Day Into Night" series, as well as introducing important never-before exhibited historic images. See you in March!

JOHN LENNON: 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980

Bill Eppridge: John Lennon on the train to D.C. February 10, 1964

The official John Lennon website

"HEROES: PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE SCHAPIRO"

If you are in the New Hampshire area, we highly recommend this exhibition.



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. © All Photographs Copyright of Steve Schapiro

Lamont Gallery Presents "Heroes: Works by Steve Schapiro" Monday, December 6, 2010 - Saturday, January 22, 2011


Exeter, NH -- From Monday, December 6, 2010 to Saturday, January 22, 2011, the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy will present Heroes: Works by Steve Schapiro, renowned journalism and portrait photographer, in an exhibition of 60 of his photographs. An artist reception will be held on Friday, January 7, 2011, 6:30-8 p.m.; and a gallery talk will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2011, 10 a.m. The exhibition is organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions © Steve Schapiro. The Lamont Gallery is in the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center on Tan Lane. This exhibit is free and open to the public. Please note the gallery will be closed Friday, December 18, 2010—Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

The exhibit is a collection of Schapiro’s "personally selected iconic images from his encounters with artists, writers, actors, athletes, and politicians throughout the second half of the 20th Century." Schapiro’s work ranges from dramatic images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, to portraits of Robert F. Kennedy, Jackie Onassis, Muhammad Ali, Truman Capote and Andy Warhol. His groundbreaking images of influential personalities, newsmakers, and cultural and political leaders display a modest yet remarkable presentation of his extraordinary life in photography.

Born and raised in New York City, Schapiro’s career as a notable photographer began in 1960, when he documented Arkansas migrant workers who were fighting for electricity in their camps. His photographs were published as a cover story for The New York Times Magazine, and ultimately forced the workers’ management to provide the utility, according to Schapiro’s website.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he traveled throughout the U.S. as a documentary photographer, recording the changing culture and politics. During the 1970s and 1980s, besides continuing his photographic works, he created iconic movie stills for such movies as Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy. Later, Schapiro worked for such musical greats as Barbra Streisand and David Bowie, creating photography for album covers.

"As a young photographer on assignment for Life, my only ambition was that the pictures I took each day would be published in the following week’s magazine; I never thought beyond that. I could not imagine that 40 years later, so many of my subjects would remain strong, iconic figures in the world. However, as I photographed each of these ten individuals, I was aware of the life-changing effect they were having on me," Schapiro says.

His photos have been displayed on the covers of some of the world’s most well-known and well-read magazines, including: TIME, Newsweek, LIFE, Look, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine.

Having to help shape an iconic American culture, Schapiro’s works are represented in many private and public collections, including: the Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D.C.; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Hamiltons Gallery, London, England; Galerie Thierry Marlat, Paris, France; Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, NM; Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; and Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA.

Gallery hours are Mondays 1–5 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed on Sundays. Please note the Lamont Gallery will be closed from December 18, 2010 until January 4, 2011. For more information, contact the Lamont Gallery at 603-777-3461. For information on upcoming events, visit the Academy’s community calendar. To learn more about the Academy and its events and programs, visit our website. You may also call the PEA public events line at 603-777-4309.

Related: Steve Schapiro Exhibition review in ArtNews

            

PHOTOGRAPHY IN NEW MEXICO

Collection Center for Creative Photography, University of Aizona (76.577.30) ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Trust


New Mexico magazine, the nation's original state magazine, has an article on the history of photography in New Mexico and the many galleries featuring photography in Santa Fe. The article by Wolf Schneider titled "Shoot-Out: Why the New Mexico photography scene keeps getting more competitive" opens with:

"Used to be, New Mexico's fine-art photography scene meant historic images by Laura Gilpin, Eliot Porter, and Ansel Adams - especially Adams' famed Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941. There was a photo gallery or two in Santa Fe. Now the city has a half-dozen galleries dedicated to photography, and two dozen more that feature photography among other arts. Fine-art photography is on the rise world-wide, with modern image making propelled by digital technology, and with prints in limited and numbered editions all the rage.

'Over the last 10 to 15 years, there's been an explosion in fine-art photography' observed Sidney Monroe, 52, who opened Monroe Gallery of Photography with his wife Michelle in Santa Fe in 2002. 'We started in New York in the eighties, when there were only a small number of photo galleries around the world' he remembers. Monroe specializes in humanist and photojournalist imagery, representing internationally known photographers such as the late Margaret Bourke-White and Henri Cartier Bresson, and selling prints for $1,000 up. Ninety percent of the images Monroe sells are still shot on traditional film. Showing the work of nationally and internationally known photographers, he observes, 'For any other city of this size, you won't get the diverse photography you will see in Santa Fe'".

Andrews Smith states "We are the leading dealer of Ansel Adams in the world", noting that Adams' prints currently sell for $4,000  and up. Way up. "Most of the great collectors are collecting photography. Its an international trend. There are more photo galleries in Santa Fe per capita than anywhere in the world."

Read the full article here, turn to pages 20 - 23 using the e-reader. Also interviewed and featured are Jennifer Schlesinger of Verve Gallery, Anne Kelly of Photo-Eye, and several others.

Eddie Adams: Untouchable Children, India, 1978

"For any other city of this size, you won't get the diverse photography you will see in Santa Fe" says Sidney Monroe of Monroe Gallery of Photography, which recently exhibited works by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Eddie Adams.

Related: Loews Magazine: Collecting Photography

             Summer Gallery Scene in Santa Fe