Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. (April 9, 1917 – February 26, 2010) was an American photographer, known for portraits of celebrities, politicians, presidents and other prominent individuals. He was professionally known as Fabian. Bachrach was best known for a portrait of Senator John F. Kennedy, which was later used as his official photograph after he was elected President in 1960.[1][2]
Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 9, 1917 |
| Died | February 26, 2010 (aged 92) |
| Other names | Fabian Bachrach |
| Known for | Bachrach Studios |
Bachrach's family, who own Bachrach Studios, has been in the commercial photography business for more than 140 years.[1] Bachrach Studios is believed to be the world's oldest continuously operating photography studio.[1] His paternal grandfather, David Bachrach founded Bachrach Studios in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1868.[1] He had previously photographed Abraham Lincoln during his trip to Gettysburg in 1863 during the U.S. Civil War.[1]
Biography
editLouis Fabian Bachrach Jr. was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 9, 1917. His father, Louis Fabian Bachrach, was also a photographer.[1] Bachrach received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University in 1939 and joined Bachrach Studios shortly afterwards.[1] Bachrach served as an aerial navigator in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II.[1] Bachrach later earned a master's degree in Italian literature from Boston College in 1988, when he was in his 70s.[1]
Bachrach introduced color photography to Bachrach Studios during the 1950s, and switched the studios completely to color images during the 1970s.[1] Some of Bachrach's most famous subjects included presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jacques Cousteau, Joe DiMaggio, Richard Avedon, Robert Frost, Buckminster Fuller, Ted Kennedy, and Muhammad Ali.[1]
Fabian Bachrach died of pneumonia on February 26, 2010, in Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 92.[1][2]
Bibliography
edit- 1997 Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits in Computing, written by Christopher Morgan, a collection of historic and current portrait photographs of figures from the computer industry. ACM Press (ISBN 0897919602)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Margalit Fox (March 1, 2010). "Fabian Bachrach, 92, Portraitist Who Photographed Kennedy, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- ^ a b Marquard, Bryan (March 2, 2010). "Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr., 92, photographer of famous". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 11, 2010.