Hal Gould
Encyclopedia
Hal Gould is an American
photographer and gallery
curator
.
. He grew up on a farm in New Mexico and left home at the age of 15. After holding a number of different jobs, he entered dentistry
school, but was drafted into the army in 1940. After he was called to duty, he joined E Company, 27th Infantry
, where he served together with James Jones
. Eventually he entered officer school and became a head personnel officer. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor
, he island-hopped with General Douglas MacArthur
and remained in Japan
during the occupation.
, aviator
, and painter
, it was his pursuit of photography that would change his life. For nearly a quarter of a century he practised as a portrait photographer, eventually shifting into fine art photography
.
to display fine art photography, but director Otto Bach refused to consider the medium. To make artistic photography available to the public, Gould and others created a venue for displaying works directly behind the Denver Art Museum—eventually this would become the gallery Camera Obscura. This is now one of the oldest galleries dedicated exclusively to fine art photography. Gould's gallery gave Sebastião Salgado
his first show in America
, and has been publishing the Photography in the Fine Arts Quarterly since 1983.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer and gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
.
Early life
Gould was born in in Clark, WyomingWyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. He grew up on a farm in New Mexico and left home at the age of 15. After holding a number of different jobs, he entered dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
school, but was drafted into the army in 1940. After he was called to duty, he joined E Company, 27th Infantry
27th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 27th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Wolfhounds, is a unit of the United States Army established in 1901, that served in the Philippine-American War, in the Siberian Intervention after World War I, and as part of the 25th Infantry Division during World War II, the Korean War, and later the...
, where he served together with James Jones
James Jones (author)
James Jones was an American author known for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath.-Life and work:...
. Eventually he entered officer school and became a head personnel officer. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, he island-hopped with General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
and remained in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the occupation.
Photography
While Gould held many jobs during his life, including railroad-tie repairer, boxerBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, it was his pursuit of photography that would change his life. For nearly a quarter of a century he practised as a portrait photographer, eventually shifting into fine art photography
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
.
Gallery curator
Gould repeatedly asked for the Denver Art MuseumDenver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
to display fine art photography, but director Otto Bach refused to consider the medium. To make artistic photography available to the public, Gould and others created a venue for displaying works directly behind the Denver Art Museum—eventually this would become the gallery Camera Obscura. This is now one of the oldest galleries dedicated exclusively to fine art photography. Gould's gallery gave Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist.-Biography:Salgado was born on February 8, 1944 in Aimorés, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. After a somewhat itinerant childhood, Salgado initially trained as an economist, earning a master’s degree in...
his first show in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has been publishing the Photography in the Fine Arts Quarterly since 1983.
Works
Gould's own photographic contributions to Camera Obscura include Western scenery and flora along with pictures from his various travels, these include:- Penguin Hallelujah Chorus
- Cowboy and Lady (collaboration with Mollie Uhl Eaton)
- Bristle Cone Pine—'Ming Dog Tree
Personal life
- He received an autographed pair of boxing gloves from Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Gold Medalist Teofil Stevenson in Cuba after joking with him at the 1980 Olympics.
- Gould once had a date with actress Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, which went rather poorly for both of them.