In August of 1953, Look magazine sent Tony Vaccaro on assignment to East Hampton to photograph Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner for a feature article. The piece was killed, but Vaccaro kept the black and white images, a group of which was shown at the Pollock-Krasner House in 2010. While in the Hamptons, Vaccaro also photographed several other artists, some in their studios and others at the home of the art dealer Leo Castelli in Georgica. Missing for six decades, the negatives and contact sheets were recently discovered during a move. Among the people he captured at work and in social settings are Willem and Elaine de Kooning—who had studios at the Castelli house that summer—Harold and May Rosenberg, Fairfield Porter, Wilfrid Zogbaum, Larry Rivers, Alfonso Ossorio, Costantino Nivola and John Graham. The exhibition will feature 20 of these images, shown here for the first time, including a previously unknown color portrait of Pollock.
Tony Vaccaro is one of the most distinguished photojournalists of the 20 th century. Renowned for his documentary work in post-World War II Europe, he has also photographed a wide array of notable personalities, from heads of state to stars of stage and screen. At age 94, he continues to work in his Long Island City studio, managed by his son Frank and daughter-in-law Maria, who supervised production of the exhibition prints.
Tony and his family will be present at a reception and gallery talk on Sunday, May 28 from 5 - 7 p.m. Admission is free.