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Remembering my friend John Szarkowski
John Szarkowski was a wickedly intelligent funny person and a great dinner companion. And he was surely the best and clearest thinker on the subject of photography whether one agreed or not with his muses. Quite apart from his writing talents and intellectual pursuits John had a profound knowledge of apples (the sort that grow on trees) and also was an accomplished classical clarinetist. John's 29 year tenure at the Museum of Modern Art firmly established him as the worlds most important arbiter on photography and by current standards a conservative guru. As one of the many photographers who have been encouraged and supported and who have enjoyed his warm friendship I fully expect to meet him in photography heaven one day around a good dinner table with a fine bottle of Bordeaux. In the meantime I shall very much miss him. » "John Szarkowski, Curator of Photography, Dies at 81" from The New York Times
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John Szarkowski, Curator of Photography, died at age 81 on July 7, 2007. Elliott Erwitt remembers his friend.
Reader comments (5)
I said thanks to him beacuse apart all the great things he made his own, he also had the deep glance and the courage to discover and sustain Diane Arbus.
They were challenging people.
Comment posted by Annalisa on July 11, 2007
Mr. Erwitt, thank you for your very lovely orbituary for John Szarkowski. The man who "had a profound knowledge of apples". :-) I hope to read more of your thoughts in the future.
Comment posted by Renee on July 12, 2007
Hello Elliott
I feel very sorry for the loss of your dear friend the late John Szarkowski whom I personally didn't know . But share the pain with you because I know from your writings and photo books ( I own three of them ), that you are a kind person.
God bless you.
Kamaal A. Bahnasawi
Subscriber to Magnum Blogs.
Comment posted by Kamaal A. Bahnasawi on July 16, 2007
"John Szarkowski was a wickedly intelligent funny person and a great dinner companion." To me this description of the man and the photograph of the man don't seem to match. If I'd seen it without having read the biographic notes, I'd think about: expensive tweed; elbow patches and the establishment.
Comment posted by Peter on July 30, 2007
Dear Elliott,
It is was a pleasure remembering with you all the courageous projects John had especially the introduciton of color photography at Moma with the discovery of William Eggleston and his love and knowledge of Atget. It was he who encouraged Peter Galassi to exhibit Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Early Works"
People get forgotten so quickly and as long as we keep talking about themthey will live on
Martine Franck
Comment posted by Martine Franck on August 1, 2007