Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein is a photographer, teacher, and author. He studied history at the University of Chicago and earned his BFA and MFA at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he has held the position of Professor of Photography since the 1970s. A student of photographers including Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, and Minor White, Horenstein cites these figures in encouraging his compelling approach to composition and subject matter. At RISD, Callahan advised Horenstein, ‘Photograph what you love. Even if you make bad pictures, you’ll at least have a good time.’ This approach served Horenstein well for the foreseeable decades, infusing his diverse body of work with an energy of constant curiosity.

Describing himself as a documentary photographer, Horenstein’s work largely concerns fringe, working-class, and under-recognised communities.

His work is collected and exhibited internationally and he has published over thirty books, including two instructional texts used by hundreds of thousands of photography students over the past 40 years. In recent years, Horenstein has been working on short documentary films. Horenstein has also published several monographs of his own work, including Shoot What You Love, Histories: Tales from the 70s, Show, Honky Tonk, Animalia, Humans, Racing Days, Close Relations, and many others. Horenstein's legendary work has been widely recognised, the Smithsonian Institute listing him as one of the ten defining figures in the history of photography alongside icons like Julia Margaret Cameron, Dorothea Lange and Richard Avedon. Horenstein lives in Boston.

Submitted by Elliott Gallery