Bruce Davidson (photographer)
Bruce Davidson is an influential American photographer renowned for his compelling black-and-white and color photographs that capture the essence of real life, particularly within the diverse neighborhoods of New York City. Born on September 5, 1933, in Oak Park, Illinois, Davidson developed an early passion for photography, supported by his mother who built him a darkroom. He pursued formal education in photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University before serving in the U.S. Army, where he met notable photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Davidson's work gained significant attention during the late 1950s and 1960s, particularly through projects like "Brooklyn Gang," which documented the lives of gang members, and his visual exploration of the civil rights movement following a Guggenheim fellowship. His landmark series, "East 100th Street," showcased the realities of Harlem, while his book "Subway" highlighted the New York City subway system. Throughout his career, Davidson has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement, and his images have been exhibited in major galleries and museums globally.
In addition to his photography, Davidson has maintained relationships with many of his subjects, reflecting a commitment to telling their stories. He continues to explore various themes in his work, including the environment and urban landscapes, solidifying his legacy as a significant chronicler of American life. Davidson's contributions have influenced both contemporary photography and the understanding of urban culture.
Bruce Davidson (photographer)
Photographer
- Born: September 5, 1933
- Place of Birth: Oak Park, Illinois
- Education: Rochester Institute of Technology; Yale University
- Significance: Bruce Davidson is an American photographer. He is best known for both black-and-white and color images that portray real life. Much of his work focuses on people and neighborhoods in New York City. Numerous museums and galleries throughout the world have shown his photographs, and his images have been collected in several books.
Background
Bruce Davidson was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on September 5, 1933. He was interested in photography from a young age and began to photograph much of the world around him. His mother, who primarily raised him, built him a darkroom in the basement of their home so he could pursue his hobby. In 1947, Davidson won first prize in a Kodak photo competition. After high school graduation, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, from 1951 to 1954. He then went to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Davidson was drafted into the US Army in 1955. He was sent to Paris, France, where he met a photographer named Henri Cartier-Bresson, who Davidson later worked with at the cooperative photography agency Magnum Photos. After his discharge in the late 1950s, he worked in the photo lab at Eastman Kodak in Manhattan, New York.
In 1957, Davidson worked at Life magazine as a freelance photographer, and he photographed what interested him in his spare time. A year later, he joined Magnum, where he hosted his photography with other members of the agency. Magnum hosts a collection of members' photos and shares these with advertisers, publishers, other photographers, the media, galleries, and museums worldwide.
From the late 1950s through the 1960s, Davidson became interested in the people who made up gangs in New York City. He spent time with and photographed a group of teenagers who called themselves the Jokers. He captured images of the gang members as they navigated the city, rode the subway, visited cafés and bars, sunned themselves on beaches, smoked, and got tattoos. He called the series Brooklyn Gang.
Life's Work
A Guggenheim fellowship in 1962 allowed Davidson to photograph the civil rights movement. He traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, where he took images of the Freedom Riders, activist Martin Luther King Jr., and people participating in protests. The following year, he showed this collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. During the 1960s, Davidson also did freelance work for Vogue and other publications, but he said that he only did it because he needed the income to support his family.
In the mid-1960s, Davidson became interested in Harlem. He was not familiar with the section of the city, and he only heard of the vast poverty and ruin there. Davidson decided that he wanted to highlight the people of Harlem. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded him its first photography grant in 1967 to continue this work. Harvard University Press published these images as East 100th Street in 1970. The MoMA showed the images in an exhibit of the same name that year.
In the years that followed, Davidson continued to photograph the different areas of New York City. He worked on a photo project featuring the subway system, which was shown in various exhibits and published as the book Subway in 1986. In the 1990s, he was commissioned to photograph Central Park as an assignment for National Geographic. The magazine rejected his images, but Davidson continued to take photos of the park, which were published as Central Park in 1995. Near the end of the century, Davidson returned to East 100th Street to photograph how the area had changed since his first collection of photos in the 1960s. He won an Open Society Institute Individual Fellowship Award for the project.
In the 2000s, Davidson traveled to Paris, France, to photograph nature and the environment. His collection, The Nature of Paris, was shown in the city in 2007. He also began working on a three-volume collection of his work, Outside Inside, which was published in 2010. The first volume covers the years 1954 to 1961 and his Brooklyn Gang series. The next one, which runs from 1961 to 1966, focuses on his images of the civil rights movement. The final volume continues his work from 1966 to 2009 and includes East 100th Street.
Davidson remained interested in the environment when he returned home from France. He focused on landscapes for a new project in the years that followed. He traveled to Los Angeles, California, to capture symbols of the West Coast, including palm trees, cacti, and the Hollywood sign to include in his series. As Davidson worked on this series, he published In Color (2015), which featured his best color images. In 2016, Bruce Davidson, an illustrated biography, was published. In 2018, Davidson was granted the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement by the International Center of Photography. In 2021, he was granted the Centenary Medal and an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society.
Impact
Davidson became noticed for his images of real people and real locations. He was especially fascinated with Harlem and other boroughs of New York City, and enjoyed photographing residents and sharing their stories. Davidson kept in touch with several of his subjects throughout the years. Bob "Bengie" Powers, a man Davidson photographed for his Brooklyn Gang series, reconnected with Davidson several decades after the collection first appeared. Davidsons' wife, Emily Haas Davidson, wrote a book about Powers called Bobby's Book in 2012. Davidson contributed the images to the book.
Personal Life
Davidson is married to Emily Haas Davidson. They have two daughters, Jenny and Anna. Both of their daughters followed in their father's footsteps and became photographers.
Bibliography
"Bruce Davidson." Artnet, www.artnet.com/artists/bruce-davidson/biography. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
"Bruce Davidson." Magnum Photos, pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31‗9‗VForm&ERID=24KL53ZTH6. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
"Bruce Davidson and Alec Soth Recognized in the RPS Awards 2021." Magnum, 2021, www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/bruce-davidson-and-alec-soth-recognized-in-the-rps-awards-2021/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Butet-Roch, Laurence. "Bruce Davidson's Ode to Color Photography." Time, 9 Feb. 2015, time.com/3696223/bruce-davidsons-ode-to-color-photography. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Estrin, James, and Josh Haner. "The Renowned, Unknown Bruce Davidson." New York Times, 28 June 2010, lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/showcase-177/?mcubz=1. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Kennedy, Randy. "Like a Plant, His Roots Are Showing." New York Times, 6 Nov. 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/arts/design/08kenn.html?‗r=1&scp=1&sq=bruce%20davidson&st=cse. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
"Launching Bruce Davidson: An Illustrated Biography." Magnum Foundation, magnumfoundation.tumblr.com/post/143907544336/launching-bruce-davidson-an-illustrated-biography. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
O'Hagan Sean. "Outside Inside by Bruce Davidson." Guardian, 12 June 2010, www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jun/13/outside-inside-bruce-davidson-review. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
Sinha, Richa. "Bobby's Book." New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2013, www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/bobbys-book. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
Vanderbilt, Tom. "The Picture Man." New York Times, 19 Jan. 2003, www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/nyregion/the-picture-man.html?mcubz=1. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.