Walter Rosenblum Biography
Walter Rosenblum was an influential photographer for over fifty years, as well as an important figure in the advancement of twentieth century photography. His early involvement with photography began when he was seventeen years old, when he joined the Photo League and studied with Paul Strand.
As a World War II U.S. Army combat photographer, Rosenblum landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. and fought through France, Germany and Austria. He was one of the first motion picture cameramen to participate in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. He is recognized as a liberator by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and interviewed by the Shoah Foundation.
One of the most highly decorated WWII cameramen, Rosenblum received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, five battle stars, a Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation and the Arrowhead Device for landing on Omaha Beach. His involvement in World War II and subsequent military decorations enabled film directors like Stephen Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks to confidently interview him for background information regarding landing in Normandy.
Photograph by Grace Robertson
Walter Rosenblum’s photographic career spanned major events of the twentieth century; he photographed the immigrant experience in America, WWII, Spanish Civil War refugees, and in East Harlem, Haiti, Europe and the South Bronx.
Rosenblum had an extensive teaching career, beginning in 1947 at Brooklyn College. He also taught at Yale Summer School of Art and Cooper Union, as well as lecturing abroad, in Italy at C.R.A.F, in France at the Rencontre de La Photographie in Arles, and in Sao Paolo, Brazil. In 1980 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship for his project "People of the South Bronx". The International Center for Photography awarded the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement to Rosenblum and his wife, noted photographic historian Naomi Rosenblum
Rosenblum’s photographs are represented in more than forty international collections including the J. Paul Getty Museum; Library of Congress, Wash. DC; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid and the MoMA, NYC.
'Walter Rosenblum: In Search of Pitt Street', an award-winning film about Rosenblum's life and work was produced by Daedalus Productions, Inc. in 2000.
“In my philosophy, the meaning of life derives from the people one has known and loved. I have met my share of evil people and know what they are capable of—I was at the liberation of Dachau—but I have always held that evil is not inherent in men and women. I still believe that within a caring society, only the best people will flourish. That is the spirit that has moved me to photograph.”
