Minor White

Minor Martin White (July 9, 1908 – June 24, 1976) was an American photographer, theoretician, critic, and educator. He had an intense interest in how people viewed and thought about photographs and a personal vision guided by several spiritual and intellectual philosophies.

From 1937 until his death in 1976, White made thousands of black-and-white and color photographs of landscapes, people, and abstract subject matter. They showed technical mastery and a strong sense of light and shadow. He taught many classes, workshops, and retreats on photography, including at schools like the California School of Fine Arts, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his home.

He lived much of his life as a closeted gay man, not expressing his sexuality out of fear of losing his teaching jobs. Some of his most compelling images are figure studies of men he taught or with whom had relationships. He helped start the photography magazine Aperture, considered the only periodical produced for, and by, photographers practicing the medium as a fine art. He served as its editor for many years.

After his death in 1976, White was hailed as one of America's greatest photographers.