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. Bachrach's family, who own

Bachrach Studios Bachrach Studios is an American photographic studio, believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating photography studios in the world. History It was founded in Baltimore in 1868 by David Bachrach, David Bachrach, Jr. The studio's found ...

, has been in the

commercial photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

business for more than 140 years. Bachrach Studios is believed to be the world's oldest continuously operating photography studio. His paternal grandfather,

David Bachrach David Bachrach, Jr. (1845–1921) was an American commercial photographer based in Baltimore, Maryland. He made contributions to the technical, artistic, and professional advancements in the field as well as being the founder of a photographic dy ...

founded Bachrach Studios in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, in 1868. He had previously photographed Abraham Lincoln during his trip to Gettysburg in 1863 during the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Biography

Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 9, 1917. His father, Louis Fabian Bachrach, was also a photographer. Bachrach received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University in 1939 and joined Bachrach Studios shortly afterwards. Bachrach served as an aerial navigator in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II. Bachrach later earned a master's degree in Italian literature from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in 1988, when he was in his 70s. Bachrach introduced

color photography Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray-monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

to Bachrach Studios during the 1950s, and switched the studios completely to color images during the 1970s. Some of Bachrach's most famous subjects included presidents Richard Nixon and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Faisal of Saudi Arabia,

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, Jawaharlal Nehru,

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

, Joe DiMaggio, Richard Avedon,

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...

, Buckminster Fuller, Ted Kennedy, and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

. Fabian Bachrach died of pneumonia on February 26, 2010, in Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 92.

Bibliography

*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 The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...

()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachrach, Louis Fabian 1917 births 2010 deaths American portrait photographers Artists from Newton, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War II Harvard College alumni Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts