Joel Meyerowitz Biography

Joel Meyerowitz is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world. Born in New York City in 1938 he began photographing in 1962. Working exclusively in color, Meyerowitz often uses an 8 X 10 large format camera to produce luminous photographs of landscapes and people. A “street photographer” in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Meyerowitz, was instrumental in changing the attitude toward the use of color photography from one of resistance to nearly universal acceptance. His first book, Cape Light, is considered a classic work of color photography and has sold more than 100,00 copies during its 25-year life span. Meyerowitz is also known for creating a photographic archive of the 9/11 attack on The World Trade Center, and was the only photographer allowed unrestricted access to ground zero immediately following the attack. A number of these images have since been made into a book, Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive. Meyerowitz is a Guggenheim fellow and a recipient of both the NEA and NEH awards. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many others.