Dennis Stock (July 24, 1928 – January 11, 2010) was an American journalist and professional photographer.

Life and career

Stock was born 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 ...

, to Fannie and Fred Stock. His father was Swiss and his mother was English. Stock served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1947 to 1951. Following his discharge, he apprenticed under photographer

Gjon Mili Gjon Mili (November 28, 1904 – February 14, 1984) was an Albanian photographer from Korçë who developed his profession in America, best known for his work published in ''Life'', in which he photographed artists such as Pablo Picasso. Biogr ...

. In 1951, he won a first prize in a ''

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 ...

'' magazine competition for young photographers. That same year, he became an associate member of the photography agency Magnum. He became a full partner-member in 1954. Stock met the actor

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

in 1955, a few months before the latter's sudden death. He undertook a series of photos of the actor in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Dean's hometown in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and in New York City. One of his portraits of Dean in New York's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

became an iconic image of the young star. The black and white picture shows the actor with a pulled up collar on a long coat and a cigarette in his mouth on a rain-soaked, grey day. It later appeared in numerous galleries and on postcards and posters and became one of the most reproduced photographs of the post-war period. From 1957 until the early 1960s, Stock aimed his lens at

jazz musician This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources. Accordion * Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983) * Luciano Biondini (born 1971) * A ...

s, photographing such people as

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

( see for example,

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

Cover Photo). With this series of photographs he published the book ''Jazz Street''. In 1962, he received the first prize at the International Photo Competition in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. In 1968, Stock left Magnum to start his own film company, Visual Objectives Inc., and made several documentaries, but he returned to the agency a year later, as vice president for new media and film. In the mid-1970s, he traveled to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, and also produced numerous features series, such as photographs of contrasting regions, like

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s he focused on color photography of nature and landscape, and returned to his urban roots in the 1990s focusing on architecture and modernism. In 2006, Stock married writer Susan Richards. They lived in Woodstock, New York, with their four dogs.

Film portrayals

In 2011, a documentary film '' Beyond Iconic: Photographer Dennis Stock'', narrated by Stock himself was released. It was completed before his death.

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...

portrayed him in the biographical drama film ''

'' (2015), about Stock's friendship with James Dean.

Death

Dennis Stock died of colon and

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

.Dennis Stock: The man who made Jimmy live forever
. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.

Awards

* 1991, Advertising Photographers of America, USA * 1962, 1st Prize, International Photography Competition, Poland. * 1951, 1st Prize, ''Life'' Young Photographers Contest, USA

Publications

* ''Alaska'', USA: Harry N. Abrams, 1978 * ''The Alternative: Communal Life in New America'', UK: Collier-Macmillan, 1970 * ''America Seen'', France: Contrejour, 1980, * ''Brother Sun'', USA:

Sierra Club Books Sierra Club Books was the publishing division, for both adults and children, of the Sierra Club, founded in by then club President David Brower. They were a United States publishing company located in San Francisco, California with a concentrat ...

, 1974 * ''California: the Golden Coast'', with Philip L. Fradkin, USA: Viking Press/Studio Book, 1974, * ''California Trip'', USA: Grossman Publishers, 1970, * ''The Circle of Seasons'', with Josephine W. Johnson, USA: Viking Press, 1974, * ''Edge of Life: World of the Estuary'', USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972 * ''Flower Show'', USA: Rizzoli, 1986; ''Impressions, fleurs'', France: Mengès, 1986 * ''A Haiku Journey'', Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1974 * ''The Happy Year'', USA: Channel Press, Inc., 1963 * ''Hawaii'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, ; 1991, * ''I Grandi Fotografi : Dennis Stock'', Italy: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1982 * ''James Dean: Fifty Years Ago'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005, ; France: La Martinière, 2005. * ''James Dean Revisited'', USA: Viking Press/Penguin Books, 1978, ; USA: Shirmer & Mosel/Chronicle Books, 1987, * ''Jazz Street'', USA: Doubleday, 1960 * ''Jazz Welt'', Germany: Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1959 * ''Living Our Future : Francis of Assisi'', USA: Franciscan Herald, 1972 * ''Made in the U.S.A.'', Germany/USA: Cantz, 1995, * ''National Parks Centennial Portfolio'', USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972, * ''New England Memories'', USA: Bulfinch Press, 1989, * ''Plaisir du Jazz'', France: La Guilde du Livre, 1959 * ''Portrait of a Young Man, James Dean'', USA: Kadokawa Shoten, 1956 * ''Provence Memories'', USA: New York Graphic Society, ; Bullfinch Press, 1989, ; Provence, France: Le Chêne, 1988 * ''Saint Francis of Assisi'', with Lawrence Cunningham, USA: Harper & Row, 1981, ; ''Franziskus: Der Mann aus Assisi'', Switzerland: Reich Verlag, 1981 * ''This Land of Europe'', Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1976, * ''Voyage Poétique à Travers le Japon d'Autrefois'', Switzerland: Office du Livre, 1976

References

Washington Post: Dennis Stock, 81; Magnum photographer shot iconic moments

LA Times: Dennis Stock dies at 81; friend and photographer of James Dean

External links

''The New York Times'' "Lens Blog"

NYT Video
of Stock discussing his friendship with Dean
MAGNUM Photos – Official Website

Dennis Stock Photograph of James Dean, 1955

The film "Beyond Iconic - Photographer Dennis Stock" / 2011 / Directed by Hanna Maria Sawka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Dennis 1928 births 2010 deaths Photographers from New York City Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from liver cancer American people of Swiss descent American photographers