Minor White
1908–1976

Introduction

Minor Martin White (July 9, 1908 – June 24, 1976) was an American photographer, theoretician, critic, and educator.

White made photographs of landscapes, people, and abstract subject matter. They showed technical mastery and a strong sense of light and shadow. He taught at the California School of Fine Arts, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in his home. Some of his most compelling images are figure studies of men he taught or with whom he had relationships. He helped start the photography magazine Aperture, considered the only periodical produced for, and by, photographers practicing the medium as a fine art. He served as its editor for many years. White was hailed as one of America's greatest photographers.

Wikidata identifier

Q712996

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Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed December 5, 2024.

Introduction

American photographer, theoretician, critic and educator Minor White was born on July 9, 1908. He took his first photographs on a trip to Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota in 1937. From 1937 to 1938 White worked as an assistant in a photographic studio in Portland, Oregon. In 1938 White photographed historic nineteenth-century façades that were to be demolished in Portland, Oregon. He photographed the Portland commercial waterfront for the Oregon Art Project in 1939. White photographed the landscape of eastern Oregon in 1940. In 1942 White was commissioned by the Portland Art Museum to photograph two historic residences, the Dolph and Lindley houses. White moved to New York City, New York in 1945 and worked as a photographer at the Museum of Modern Art until 1946. That year he moved to San Francisco, California and photographed the work of architect Bernard Maybeck. In 1952 White was a co-founder and editor/director of Aperture magazine in San Fransico, California. In 1953, White moved to Rochester, New York to work for George Eastman House. He worked for GEH until 1956 and lived in Rochester until 1965. White was a founding member of the Society for Photographic Education in 1962. From 1965 to 1974 White taught photography at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. In 1968 he photographed in Maine and Vermont, United States and Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1973-1974 White photographed in Lima, Peru and Europe. He died June 24, 1976.

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, author, educator, photographer, professor, writer

ULAN identifier

500000194

Names

Minor White, Minor Martin White

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed December 5, 2024.



On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

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Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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