Alex Webb (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Alex Webb is a photojournalist associated with Magnum Photos
. He has primarily worked in color, has published several books, and has contributed to such magazines as GEO
, Time
, and the New York Times Magazine.
. Webb first became interested in photography as a high school student and in 1972 attended the Apeiron Workshops in Millerton, New York
, where he met Magnum photographers Bruce Davidson
and Charles Harbutt
. He went on to study history and literature at Harvard University
(graduating in 1974), but also studied photography at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
. By 1974 he was working as a photojournalist and in 1976 he became an associate member of Magnum Photos. During this time he documented small-town life in the American South. He also did some work in the Caribbean
and Mexico
, which led him, in 1978, to begin working in color, which he has continued to do.
Webb's work has been exhibited around the world, including at the Walker Art Center
, the Museum of Photographic Arts
, the International Center of Photography
, the High Museum of Art
, the Museum of Contemporary Art
in San Diego, and the Whitney Museum of American Art
. His work is in numerous collections. He has received commissions from the High Museum of Art as well as the Banesto Foundation in Spain
.
Webb now lives and works in Brooklyn
, New York with his wife, Rebecca Norris Webb, who is also a photographer.
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
. He has primarily worked in color, has published several books, and has contributed to such magazines as GEO
GEO (magazine)
GEO is a family of educational monthly magazines similar to the National Geographic magazine. It is known for its profound reports, which are accompanied by opulent pictures.The first edition appeared in Germany in 1976...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and the New York Times Magazine.
Career
Born in San Francisco, Webb was raised in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Webb first became interested in photography as a high school student and in 1972 attended the Apeiron Workshops in Millerton, New York
Millerton, New York
Millerton is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 925 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, where he met Magnum photographers Bruce Davidson
Bruce Davidson (photographer)
Bruce Davidson is an American photographer. He has been a member of Magnum agency since 1958. His photographs, notably those taken in Harlem, New York City, have been widely exhibited and published in a number of books.-Youth:Bruce Davidson was born to a single mother, who worked in a factory...
and Charles Harbutt
Charles Harbutt
Charles Harbutt is an American photographer, a former president of Magnum, and full-time Professor at Parsons School of Design in New York.-Biography:...
. He went on to study history and literature at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(graduating in 1974), but also studied photography at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only building actually built by Le Corbusier in the United States, and one of only two in the Americas...
. By 1974 he was working as a photojournalist and in 1976 he became an associate member of Magnum Photos. During this time he documented small-town life in the American South. He also did some work in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, which led him, in 1978, to begin working in color, which he has continued to do.
Webb's work has been exhibited around the world, including at the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
, the Museum of Photographic Arts
Museum of Photographic Arts
The Museum of Photographic Arts or MoPA is a museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park. First founded in 1974, MoPA opened in 1983. MoPA is one of three museums in the US dedicated exclusively to the collection and preservation of photography, with a mission to inspire, educate and engage the broadest...
, the International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, the High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
, the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego , in San Diego, California, USA, is an art museum focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present.-History:...
in San Diego, and the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
. His work is in numerous collections. He has received commissions from the High Museum of Art as well as the Banesto Foundation in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Webb now lives and works in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York with his wife, Rebecca Norris Webb, who is also a photographer.
Awards
- 2008 LuccaLuccaLucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
Photo Festival Award - 2007 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2002 David Octavius Hill Medaille
- 2000 Leica Medal of Excellence
- 1998 Hasselblad FoundationHasselblad FoundationThe Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation, established in 1979, is a fully independent, not-for-profit foundation. The main aim of the Foundation is to promote research and academic teaching in the natural sciences and photography. The Foundation also presents an annual international award in...
- 1990 National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Fellowship - 1990 W. Eugene SmithW. Eugene SmithWilliam Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...
Foundation Grant - 1988 Leopold Godowsky, Jr. Color Photography Award
- 1986 New York State Council on the Arts Grant
- 1980 Overseas Press ClubOverseas Press ClubThe Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
Award