Robert Frank
1924–2019
Introduction
Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider's view of American society. Critic Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian in 2014, said The Americans "changed the nature of photography, what it could say and how it could say it. [ ... ] it remains perhaps the most influential photography book of the 20th century." Frank later expanded into film and video and experimented with manipulating photographs and photomontage.
Wikidata identifier
Q467574
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed February 28, 2024.
Introduction
From 1940 to 1941, Frank worked as an apprentice in a Basel photographic studio and later as a photographer for Gloria Films in Zurich. He emigrated to the United States in 1947 and settled in New York City, contributing photographs to various publications. In 1948 he traveled to Peru and Bolivia, and from 1949 to 1951 he worked in England, Wales, United Kingdom and France. In 1955, Frank travelled across the United States taking photographs for his book 'The Americans.' From 1957 to 1969 he worked as a photographer, filmmaker, and independent producer in New York City, eventually moving to Nova Scotia in 1969 with his wife, artist June Leaf.
Country of birth
Switzerland
Roles
Artist, cinematographer, collagist, documentary filmmaker, photographer, video artist
ULAN identifier
500019916
Names
Robert Frank, Robert Louis Frank
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed February 28, 2024.
26 works
-
Untitled (Memorial)
1995 -
Moving Pictures
1994 -
Yellow Flower - Like a Dog, New York City
1992 -
Fear - No Fear
1988 -
In Mabou - Life Dances On
1977 -
Rolling Stones, Cocksucker Blues
1972 -
Peter, Allen, Julius, Kansas City
1965 -
Woodstock, N.Y., Raoul Hague and Marvin Israel
1962 -
Viva Arrives
c. 1961 -
Pull My Daisy
1959 -
Platte River, Tennessee
1958 -
Willem de Kooning
1957 -
Mary
1957 -
Chicago
1956 -
Indianapolis
1956 -
Yom Kippur, East River, NY
1956 -
Covered Car, Long Beach
1956 -
Untitled, Daytona Beach
c. 1955 -
Detroit, River Rouge Plant
1955 -
Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, New York City
1955 -
St. Petersburg, Florida
1955 -
Restaurant-U.S. 1 Leaving Columbia, South Carolina
1955 -
St. Francis, Gas Station, and City Hall-Los Angeles
1955 -
Untitled (Freak Show Photos/Exile on Main Street)
c. 1955–1960 -
Formal Reception
1954 -
London
1952, printed 1953