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Family of Man

February 15, 2026 - Family of Man / Photographer / Social - Street / Swiss

Robert Frank

Robert Frank arrived in the United States in 1947 with a Swiss passport, a working knowledge of several European photographic traditions, and an eye that would transform the medium forever. Born in Zürich in 1924 to a Jewish family of German descent, he had apprenticed with photographers in Switzerland and learned the discipline of careful, […]

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February 17, 2026 - American / Family of Man / Photographer / Social - Street

Russell Lee

Russell Werner Lee was born in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1903, into a comfortable middle-class family. He studied chemical engineering at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1925 and working briefly in the roofing industry. It was an unlikely beginning for a man who would become one of America’s most prolific and compassionate documentary photographers. Lee […]

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February 17, 2026 - American / Family of Man / Magnum / Photographer / Social - Street

W. Eugene Smith

William Eugene Smith was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1918, and from his earliest years demonstrated an intensity of purpose that would define both the brilliance and the turbulence of his life. His father, a grain dealer, committed suicide when Eugene was eighteen, a trauma that left a lasting mark on the young man. Smith […]

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RESOURCES

This is where I keep the research — over 200 studies of the photographers, writers, curators and exhibitions I’ve found most compelling. Each entry offers a summary of their practice together with a few examples of their work, where copyright permits.

FOCUS


Browse by genre (use the hamburger menu above on mobile) — Street, Fashion, Landscape, Documentary and others. Most of these categories took shape during my MFA studies and many of the people here appear in multiple categories.

NATIONALITIES

View landmark exhibitions like New Topographics and The Family of Man alongside individual studies of Magnum photographers and many others, like the "Terrible Three", who have shaped the way we see.