Who

One of the most influential of American photographers of the 20th Century, Friedlander's lens has chronicled American life for the past 50 years.

Backstory

Raised in Washington State, Friedlander began taking photographs as a teenager before attending the Art Center School in Los Angeles. He didn't remain in school long: In 1956, he headed for New York, launching his freelance career taking pictures for newspapers and magazines; by the early 1960s, he'd attracted attention for his amusing depictions of city life and irreverent self-portraits. Friedlander landed his first solo show in 1963. Four years later, he participated in an acclaimed 1967 exhibition at the MoMA entitled "New Documents," which also included work by Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and Richard Avedon. Friedlander's since gone on to take a wide variety of photos, including portraits of jazz legends like Miles Davis (which were assembled into a 1992 book, The Jazz People of New Orleans) and a controversial series of nudes displayed at the MoMA in 1991—the women, including a young Madonna Ciccone, were featured in contorted, uncomfortable-looking poses, and the show was roundly criticized by feminists who described it as an "unsettling" and "grotesque" collection of pseudo-porn shots.

Of note

Friedlander probably remains best known for a set of self-portraits from the 1960s depicting his shadow, his reflection in windows and mirrors, and occasionally his full image. He's also known for his 200-photo trek across the U.S., which became the 1976 book The American Monument. In 2005, a massive Friedlander retrospective at MoMA included nearly 500 works, and the prices for his pieces have been on the rise since. Following the retrospective, one of his photos sold at auction for $78,000, a record for Friedlander.

Trophy case

His accolades include a MacArthur "genius" grant, three Guggenheim Fellowships, and several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In print

The prolific Friedlander has published more than two dozen books of his work, most recently 2005's Friedlander, from the MoMA retrospective.

Personal

He's been married to Maria Friedlander since 1958; she's been featured in a number of his photographs. They have two grown children, Erik and Anna, and live in New City in Rockland.