Duane Michals

Duane Stephen Michals ( "Michaels"; February 18, 1932 – June 9, 2026) was an American photographer whose work, full of narrative at a time when the photography world was not focused on it, often showed the influence of surrealism. Michals made innovative use of photo-sequences and often incorporated handwritten text to examine emotion and philosophy.

Education and career Michals's interest in art began at age 14 while attending university-level classes in watercolor at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. In 1953, he received a B.A. from the University of Denver. In 1956, after two years in the U.S. Army, he went on to study at the Parsons School of Design with a plan to become a graphic designer; however, he did not complete his studies. He did not have a studio. Instead, he took portraits of people in their environment, in contrast to the method of other, more famous photographers at the time, such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn.

Michals was hired by the Mexican government to photograph the 1968 Summer Olympics; Portraits he took between 1958 and 1988 would later become the basis of his book Album.

In 1976, Michals received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He also produced the art for the albums Synchronicity (by The Police) in 1983

Artistic influences and impact

Though he was not directly involved in gay civil rights, his photography addressed aspects of gayness, especially in urban settings. In 1987, after several years of devastation in the gay community caused by AIDS and political indifference to it or even happiness about it from mainstream politicians at almost every level of government throughout the United States and most of the world, Michals discussed his notion of the artist's relationship to politics and power:I feel the political aspirations are impotent. They can never be seen. If they are, it will only be by a limited audience. If one is to act politically, one simply puts down the camera and goes out and does something. I think of someone like Heartfield who ridiculed the Nazis. Who very creatively took great stands. He could have been killed at any moment, he was Jewish, and my God what the guy did. It was extraordinary. You don't see that now. Michals cited Balthus, William Blake, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Eakins, René Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico, and Walt Whitman as influences on his art; Balthus, Magritte, and de Chirico allowed him to photograph them.

Michals is noted for two innovations in artistic photography developed in the 1960s and 1970s. First, he "[told] a story through a series of photos"

Personal life and death Michals was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, on February 18, 1932, and lived in New York City.

Michals's partner, then husband, Frederick Gorrée died in 2017. The two had been together since 1960. 2019-2020: Illusions of the Photographer: Duane Michals at the Morgan, Morgan Library & Museum, New York, New York 2026: Duane Michals: Beyond Likeness, The Vicki Myhren Gallery, University of Denver, Denver, CO

Group exhibitions 1966: Toward a Social Landscape, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Photographs by Michals, Bruce Davidson, Lee Friedlander, Danny Lyon, and Garry Winogrand. Curated by Nathan Lyons. 1999: Cosmos, Musée de Beaux-Arts de Montréal 1999: The Century of the Body: Photoworks 1900–2000, Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne 1999: From Camouflage to Free Style, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris 2004: The Ecstasy of Things, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland

Awards 1991: Honorary Fellowship, The Royal Photographic Society 1994: Gold medal for photography, National Arts Club