Bill Pierce (born in 1935, Waterbury) is a freelance

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

with a background in theater, who is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Life

Pierce was a graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. He is a

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

photographer and apprenticed with

W. Eugene Smith William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978) was an American photojournalist.Peacock, Scot. "W(illiam) Eugene Smith." ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2003. ''Biography In Context'' He has been described as "perhaps the si ...

. He was a photojournalist more than 20 years, during which he covered worldwide events from the civil wars in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

to the demonstrators' call for democracy in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. His first experience photographing armed conflict was the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The first war he photographed was in Northern Ireland beginning in 1973, doing so off and on for almost a decade. In 1976 Roger Rosenblatt wrote an original story about this, expanded the text into the book ''Children of War'' and turned Pierce into one of its characters. A few of his photographs were featured in the book as illustrations. The book won the

Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy ...

in 1984. In 1983 he and

Bill Foley William Foley is an American photojournalist whose work has been recognized by several national and international awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and International Press Freedom Awards. He has worked on assignment in 47 countries, with a p ...

were assaulted and threatened with death by Syrian soldiers while they were trying to enter the Bekka Valley in Lebanon, but they reached

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

safely. Pierce's work appears in major international publications such as

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

. He acted as contributing editor to Popular Photography for 15 years and

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

, U.S. News & World Report,

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

, Paris Match,

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

and

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. He was also a writer for Camera 35 magazine and Popular Photography. His works are represented by private collectors and in exhibitions, books, permanent museum collections, such as of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

and the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

. He contributed four chapters on black-and-white film and artificial lighting to the 15th edition of the book "Leica Manual" in 1974. He was also featured as an interviewee in the 2015 documentary ''The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith''. He was one of dozens of photographers—along with

Neil Selkirk Neil Selkirk (born June 25, 1947) is a British-born American photographer known for his portraiture. Photography career Selkirk was born in London, England, in 1947. “An accomplished portrait photographer and masterful documentarian,” he stud ...

and

Gary Miller Gary Miller may refer to: *Gary Miller (politician) (born 1948), American politician * Michael Dunn (actor) (Gary Neil Miller, 1934–1973), American actor * Gary L. Miller (1947–1969), American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient * Gary Miller ...

—who have made stills of the ″ Sesame Street mob″ between the years 1970 and 1982. He has given photographic lectures in

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and on the ″Leica College Seminar″. He has two sons, one of whom is also a photographer.

Awards

* 1989 Leica Medal of Excellence (for his contributions to the project ''"Homeless in America"'') * 1988 31st World Press Photo contest :- Science & Technology (''1st prize singles''; from a demonstration of the Meissner effect) :- Budapest Award (''Individual awards''; with the same picture) :- Daily Life (''Honorable Mention prize singles''; from a homeless in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) * 1982 Overseas Press Club :- ''Olivier Rebbot Award'' ("Coverage of ordinary people in times of war") * 1975 18th World Press Photo contest :- General Features (''2nd prize singles''; Research on the workings of the brain)

Some of his permanent collections

Collection,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

*:Photos: ''

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

'' (1974); ''Children at War'' (1982); '' John Henry Laragh'' (1974−75) *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

*: Photos by ''″ Ellis Rabb papers″'': ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...

'' (

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

– Princeton, N.J.,1960); '' The Tavern'', ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'', ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' (McCarter Theatre – Princeton, N.J., 1961); ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (Miscellaneous Productions, 1968–1969); ''Pantagleize'' (Includes photos of set, Lyceum Theatre – New York, N.Y., 1968)

Notes

* OPC Award is for the best photoreportage from Beirut and Northern Ireland covering the book ''Children of War''.

References

Sources

Guide to the Jazz Loft Project Records, 1950–2012 and undated → Bill Pierce
by Sam Stephenson, Duke University Libraries, Retrieved 9 December 2015 *

' by John Durniak; Published: The New York Times Company, October 6, 1991

by Ctein, theonlinephotographer.typepad.com (The Online Photographer (a.k.a. TOP) edited by Mike Johnston); 9 October 2013
A Day in the life of America pp. 267
by Rick Smolan, David Cohen, Leslie Smolan – 1985 *
Autofocus
', Popular Photography pp. 32, 34, 36, 58-59 – April 1990
Bill Pierce master printer
by Russel Hart, American Photo pp. 20 – January/February 1994.
Homeless in America
Michael Evans, National Mental Health Association (U.S.), Families for the Homeless (Group) Acropolis Books, pp. 15 – 1988
War torn
by Susan Vermazen, Pantheon Books, 1984.
District Native Camptures Globe′s Hot Spot on Film
by Jerry Vondas, The Pittsburgh Press – Jul 11, 1983

External links

Bill Pierce
on the webpage RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History)
Part of Bronx Documentary Center
paddle8.com

cameraquest.com; April 11, 2015
Bill Pierce on TumblrPierce photographer on Getty Images
*Princeton Alumni Weekly volume LXVII no 2
cover

describe
– May 30, 1967
Stories and photos From Studio A (1955)
– Story from Larry Creshkoff, WGBH Alumni – January 1, 2007
A note and pictures from legendary photojournalist Bill Pierce
by Bronx Documentary Center – March 3, 2012

by Bill Pierce, digitaljournalist.org March 2008
Fotojournalistiek, een vak voor jonge mensen?
by Anne-Marie Van Midden, Villamedia Magazine Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten (VillaMedia.nl, Dutch) – 17 May 2005
''Photojournalism: An Ethical Approach'' by Paul Martin Lester on Google Books
Routledge (Originally published in 1991) *In-depth interview and coverage of Pierce o
''Stitcher'' podcast
by Ibarionex Perello,
The Candid Frame

interview-portrait
; August 31, 2014
Bill Pierce interview
(via phone) by Larry Lawrence (archive.org) – April 5, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Bill 1935 births American photographers Living people