Martha Holmes Waxman (7 February 1923 in Louisville, Kentucky – 19 September 2006 in Manhattan, New York City,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) was an American photographer and

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

Life

Holmes was born to George and Emma Auer Holmes; her father worked in public relations and her mother was a vocal coach. She was married for 46 years to Arthur Waxman, a theatrical executive and early general manager of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

, who died in 1998. At the time of her death, Holmes was survived by their two daughters, Anne Holmes Waxman and Terry Holmes Waxman Koshel, as well as two grandchildren.

Career

Holmes was studying art at the University of Louisville and at the

Speed Art Museum The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest and largest art museum in Kentucky. It was established in 1927 in Louisville, Kentucky on Third Street ...

when someone suggested working at the '' Louisville Courier-Journal'' and '' The Louisville Times'' newspapers. She was hired and began as assistant to a color photographer, but soon became a full-time black-and-white photographer when many of the paper's male photographers were called to service in World War II. In September 1944, Holmes left for ''Life'' magazine. She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1947, to be one of ''Life's'' three staff photographers there. She covered the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

hearings during the height of the committee's investigations into the entertainment industry and alleged communist propaganda. After two years in Washington, she returned to New York and lived there for the rest of her life. She continued working for ''Life'', for which she photographed two covers, on a freelance basis and by 1950 was named one of the top 10 female photographers in the nation. Holmes's photographs were published in ''People'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

'', ''Coronet'' and ''Collier's'' magazines and exhibited worldwide, including at the International Center of Photography, 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 Louvre in Paris.

Notable works

Her most famous photographs were of Jackson Pollock and

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

and

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

. Holmes said about her time at ''Life'', "One thing ''Life'' always taught us: They'd say, 'Film is cheap. Use it. Shoot, shoot, shoot.'"

References

External links

Another Photograph by Martha Holmes

Martha Holmes' ''Life'' Photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Martha 1923 births 2006 deaths American photojournalists American women journalists Life (magazine) photojournalists Artists from Louisville, Kentucky 20th-century American photographers Kentucky women artists 20th-century American women photographers 21st-century American women artists Women photojournalists