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Win a Solo Exhibition in April 2026 + An Exclusive Interview!
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Aaron Siskind
© Jonathan Williams · Portrait of Aaron Siskind
Aaron Siskind
Aaron Siskind

Aaron Siskind

Country: United States
Birth: 1903 | Death: † 1991

Aaron Siskind was born on December 4, 1903 in New York. He was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and the fifth of six children. After receiving his Bachelor of Social Science degree from the College of the City of New York in 1926, he went on to teach high school English in the New York public school system for 21 years. His first loves were music and poetry, but he took an interest in photography after his 1929 wedding, when he received his first camera as a honeymoon present. He began his career in photography as a documentarian in the New York Photo League in 1932. From 1936 to 1940, he oversaw the League’s Feature Group as they created documentary photo essays of political importance, fueled by a desire for social change.

On the invitation of Harry Callahan, Siskind joined the faculty of the Institute of Design in Chicago in 1951, taking over as head of the photography program in 1961, when Callahan left. Siskind and Callahan, famous for their synergy as teachers and photographers, reunited in 1971 when SIskind left the Institute of Design for the Rhode Island School of Design where Callahan then taught. Siskind continued to teach at RISD until his retirement in 1976. He traveled broadly, making multiple trips to Mexico and Italy, including a stint in Rome, funded by his 1966 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.

Siskind died at age 87 in Providence, Rhode Island. The Aaron Siskind Centennial Celebration took place in 2003 and 2004, with exhibitions at more than a dozen institutions across the country, each devoted to a different period or theme of his life and work.
Selected Books on Available on Amazon
Aaron Siskind: Another Photographic Reality
Aaron Siskind: Another Photographic Reality
Aaron Siskind, Charles Traub, Gilles Mora
Aaron Siskind 100
Aaron Siskind 100
Aaron Siskind
Harlem Photographs 1932-1940
Harlem Photographs 1932-1940
Aaron Siskind, Maricia Battle, Gordon Parks
Road Trip: Photographs 1980-1988
Road Trip: Photographs 1980-1988
Aaron Siskind, David Featherstone, Charles Traub
Aaron Siskind: Photographs, 1932-1978
Aaron Siskind: Photographs, 1932-1978
Aaron Siskind, Peter Turner

Galleries

Bruce Silverstein Gallery

Etherton Gallery

Website

Aaron Siskind Foundation

 

Selected Books

Aaron Siskind: Another Photographic Reality
Aaron Siskind: Another Photographic Reality
Aaron Siskind, Charles Traub, Gilles Mora
Aaron Siskind 100
Aaron Siskind 100
Aaron Siskind
Road Trip: Photographs 1980-1988
Road Trip: Photographs 1980-1988
Aaron Siskind, David Featherstone, Charles Traub
Aaron Siskind: Photographs, 1932-1978
Aaron Siskind: Photographs, 1932-1978
Aaron Siskind, Peter Turner

Inspiring Portfolios

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Lydia Panas
© Lydia Panas
Grace Weston
© Grace Weston
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More Great Photographers To Discover

Holger Goehler
Holger Goehler
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Holger Goehler is a German photographer who was born in Freiberg and is currently living in Dresden. After completing an apprenticeship as a metallurgist, he studied mechanical engineering, but discovered his passion for photography early on. At the age of seven, he bought his first simple camera from his savings and started taking pictures. At that time he developed his first photos together with his father, in the kitchen that had been converted into a darkroom. In his youth he met the Freiberg mining and local history photographer Gunther Galinsky. His trained photographic eye had a decisive influence on him. In the 1980s and 1990s, the focus of his work was on travel, everyday and street photography, which still accompany him today. For some time now, he has devoted himself to still life photography. In the process, he recognized his special potential in dealing with light and shadow. Here he works on his long-term projects "Homelights", "Office life" and "Bathroom stories" – preferably in black and white. He presented parts of this work in a portfolio at the "Photokina 2018" in Cologne. In his photographic work, Goehler focuses on compositions of objects that he puts together. He plays with cast shadows and reflections, experimenting with how shapes can manipulate light.
Yuko Kamada
Yuko Kamada
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Liz Obert
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Brandon Thibodeaux
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Marci Lindsay
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Brian Cassey
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Alastair Magnaldo
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Call for Entries
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© Ilaria Miani
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