Joel Meyerwittz

One of the greatest and most influential photographers of all time, Joel Meyerowitz was born March 6th, 1938, in The Bronx, New York City, New York. He attended Ohio State University in 1959 where he studied painting and medical drawing but moved to the City University of New York and then Hunter College in 1961 where he studied advertising as an art director designer. Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, he began taking photographs in 1962. Four years later his first major exhibition was featured at the Eastman House in Rochester, New York. His career has been nothing less than legendary since.

To be one of the greatest you have to be one of the most accomplished and thats exactly what Joel Meyerowitz has been. His art is featured in many major public connections such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He wrote the books, Cape Light in 1978 which was widely recognized as a classic and one of the more popular photography books, and Wild Flowers in 1983 when he switched his focus from writing about colored photography to portraits and wrote Redheads in 1991 and Landscape(Tuscany: Inside the Light) in 2003. Meyerowitz was the only photographer to be given access to ground zero after the catastrophe 9/11.

For his work over the years, Meyerowitz has won dozens of awards such as The Guggenheim Fellowship and The Deutscher Fotobuchpreis. He has a well decorated career and deserves all the respect for his art.

The uniqueness in his work was brought by his use of color. His work consisted of black and white film as well but the color in his pictures is what brought his work to attention. He was one of the first advocates of color photography and helped make it known as a form of high art. His switch to color film was a monumental moment in photography history as it influenced more people to use the new technology.

Joel Meyerowitz has had a hall of fame career in all aspects. He showed many the benefits to the foreign technology of colored film and Influenced many with his work. He wrote a few books including a classic. Several awards have been earned by him over the years and his art is on display in many major public connections. He is widely recognized as one of the best photographers of all time and he has the track record to prove it.