Syl Labrot

Sylvester Welch Labrot III (November 12, 1929 – July 14, 1977) was an American photographer, painter, and graphic artist. He was among a group of early art photographers associated with Minor White, including Walter Chappell and Nathan Lyons. He is best known for his abstract color photography, much of it done during the late 1950s, but also for his photographic art book, Pleasure Beach, produced towards the end of his life. His photographs and prints are in a number of museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. Much of his work is housed at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester.

Early life and education Syl Labrot was born Sylvester Welch Labrot III on November 12, 1929, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Labrot was educated primarily in private schools on the East Coast, then studied political science at the University of Colorado–Boulder. He became increasingly interested in photography, joining the local camera club and taking a New York Institute of Photography correspondence course.

Career Labrot started out as a commercial photographer selling work locally and nationally to calendar companies and magazines. After discovering Edward Weston's work, he began experimenting with creative photography. His commercial work had primarily been in color, and his interest in techniques of color printing soon led him to producing abstract color prints. This early success and his desire to participate in a larger artistic community prompted his move to the east coast from Colorado in 1957.

In 1971, Labrot joined the faculty of the Visual Studies Workshop, an independent photography school founded by Nathan Lyons in Rochester, New York. He taught graphic arts there until 1975. During this period, he began working with various printmaking techniques. After he left the Visual Studies Workshop in 1975, he focused on producing the photography book, Pleasure Beach: A Book of Photography (1976).

Collections Labrot’s photographs and prints are in museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. Much of his work is housed at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester.

Selected works Under the Sun: The Abstract Art of Camera Vision (1960), with Walter Chappell and Nathan Lyons Pleasure Beach: A Book of Photography (1976)