Celebrating Herb Snitzer: All That Visual Jazz
Famous Photographs of Familiar Faces
Social Justice InitiativeThe Studio@620 presents the grand finale of the three month celebration of legendary photographer Herb Snitzer.
“All That Visual Jazz” features the famous images of familiar faces of beloved singers, musicians, celebrities and other known figures. This is Snitzer’s most known work and yet the impact only continues to grow with each viewing. Take advantage of this opportunity to view these original photographs in person! RSVP for your timed entry to the gallery. Masks are required.
“It’s hard to believe, but I’d walk into a club and Dizzy Gillespie’s there, and I’d wave at him, and he’d wave at me and say, ‘Hey, Herb,’ and we just did our thing. I was talented with the camera, and they were talented with the music. I was just part of the jazz community. The only performer who ever gave me any heartache was Betty Carter, the singer, who, for whatever the reason, wouldn’t let me photograph her.” — Herb Sniztzer
See the source of this excerpt from Snitzer’s interview with Art Levy – read more here.
About Herb Snitzer
Philadelphia native Herb Snitzer received his B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1957. Moving to New York after graduation, Herb quickly established himself as a top photojournalist and assisted Arnold Newman, one of the great portraitists of our time.
Herb started freelancing for magazines like Fortune, Time, Look, Life, and the Saturday Evening Post, and, in 1959, became the photo editor of Metronome, one of America’s leading jazz publications. His tenure there provided him the opportunity to photograph and become friends with many of the jazz legends of that era.
His photographic, social and political interests cover a wide spectrum of issues, which find their way into his visual work. Freedom, equality and justice are all expressed in his political images, yet he has also found the time to work with more personal and intimate expressions about life and living. His work is in the collections of many museums and private collectors; the Museum of Modern Art, Houston Museum of Fine Arts and Boston Museum of African American History, and the collections of Elton John, Bill Cosby, Bill & Hillary Clinton to name a few.
Cover image by Chris Lake.