Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein (born 1947) is an American artist, photographer, filmmaker and educator. He is the author of over 40 books, including a series of instructional textbooks.

Life and work He studied history at the University of Chicago and earned his BFA and MFA at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he is now professor of photography. He has worked as a professional photographer, filmmaker, teacher, and author since the early 1970s. He was also an Honored Educator with the Society for Photographic Education in 2013..

Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music (2003) is a documentary survey of country music during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Honky Tonk has also been presented as an exhibition at many public and private museums and galleries, notably the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2006, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in 2005, and The Annenberg Space for Photography in 2014.

In recent years, Horenstein has been working on short documentary films. His films include Murray (2010), with William A. Anderson and Hillary Spera; Spoke (2014), a celebration of the Austin, Texas, dance hall, the Broken Spoke, which was funded by The Annenberg Space for Photography and screened at the Austin Film Festival; Partners (2018), which premiered in May 2018 at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts; and Blitto Underground (2021), about bohemian Buenos Aires, which premiered at the International Film Festival in Buenos Aires, the Paris Independent Film Festival, and the Berlin International Art Film Festival. His film about Cajun Louisiana, called Marksville, LA, is scheduled for a 2027 release as well as Preacher, a short film on boogie-woogie piano player Preacher Jack.

Speedway 1972, his photographs shot at the Thompson Speedway (Connecticut) 50 years ago, was published by Stanley/Barker (UK) in 2022. We Sort of People, in collaboration with writer Leslie Tucker, was published by Kehrer Verlag (Germany) in 2023. Miles & Miles of Texas was published by Honky Tonk Editions in Boston, MA in fall 2025.

Also to be published by Honky Tonk Editions in 2027, La Louisiane, a collection of Horenstein's work from 1975-2020.

Horenstein lives in Boston.

Publications

Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual, Little, Brown, 1974, 1983, 2005 Beyond Basic Photography: A Technical Manual, Little, Brown, 1977 The Photographer's Source: A Complete Catalog, Simon & Schuster, 1989 Baseball Days: From the Sandlots To The Show, text by Bill Littlefield, Bulfinch/Little, Brown, 1993 Color Photography: A Working Manual, Little, Brown, 1995 Racing Days, text by Brendan Boyd, Viking, 1987; (paperback edition) Owl/Henry Holt, 1995; Pond, 1999 Branson, MO: Las Vegas of the Ozarks, Artisan/Workman, 1998 Creatures, Pond/Consortium, 1999; (paperback edition) Stewart, Tabori, Chang, 2000 Canine, Pond/Consortium, 2000 Digital Photography: A Basic Manual, Little Brown, 2001 Photography, co-author Russell Hart, Prentice-Hall/Pearson, 2001, 2004 Aquatics, Stewart, Tabori, Chang, 2001 Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music, Chronicle, 2003 Revised edition. WW Norton, 2012. Humans, Kehrer, 2004 Close Relations, powerhouse, 2007 Animalia, Pond, 2008 SHOW, Pond, 2010 Digital Photography: A Basic Manual, Little, Brown, 2011 Histories, Honky Tonk, 2016 Shoot What You Love, Monacelli, 2016 Make Better Pictures, Little, Brown, 2018 Henry Horenstein: Selected Works, List Gallery, Swarthmore College, 2019 Speedway72, Stanley/Barker, 2022. . We Sort of People, Kehrer Verlag, 2023 Miles and Miles of Texas, Honky Tonk Editions, 2025 La Louisiane, Honky Tonk Editions, 2027

Films Murray (2007) – with William A. Anderson and Hillary Spera Spoke (2014) Partners (2018) Blitto Underground (2021) Marksville, LA (2027) Preacher (2027)

Film Credits Imagraphy (2019) Country: Portraits of an American Sound (2015) The Photographers Series: Henry Horenstein (2014)

Collections Horenstein's work is held in the following permanent collections: J. Paul Getty Museum Museum of Fine Arts, Houston San Antonio Museum of Art Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library – holds a significant collection of Horenstein's work Smithsonian Museum of American History – holds a significant collection of Horenstein's work Allentown Art Museum