Mariana Cook (born 1955) is an American fine art photographer specializing in black and white photography and gelatin silver prints. Her work has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 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 ...

, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Musee d'Art Moderne. She is perhaps best known for her black and white portrait, ''A Couple in Chicago'', which captures a young

Barack Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

in their 1996 Hyde Park apartment, and the accompanying interview for '' The New Yorker.''

Work

In her 1996 interview with

and

, Cook discussed the couple's future political aspirations. At this point in his career, Barack Obama worked as a community organizer and was initiating the launch of his political career in his campaign for Illinois State Senator. The photograph and interview were part of a larger series, ''Couples: Speaking from the Heart''. The article was published in 2009, thirteen years after the original interview and during

Obama's presidency Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican n ...

. The gelatin silver print is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Personal life

Cook, the last surviving

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

, currently resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Publications

* ''Manhattan Island to My Self'' (Falcon Press: 1977). * ''Fathers and Daughters: In Their Own Words'' (Chronicle Books: 1994). * ''Mothers and Sons: In Their Own Words'' (Chronicle Books: 1996). * ''Generations of Women: In Their Own Words'' (Chronicle Books: 1998). * ''Couples: Speaking from the Heart'' (

Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children. The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. ...

: 2000). * ''Faces of Science: Portraits'' (

W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton Ant ...

: 2005). * ''Close at Hand'' (Quantuck Lane: 2006). * ''Mathematicians: An Outer View of the Inner World'' ( Princeton University Press: 2009). * ''Stone Walls: Personal Boundaries'' (Damiani: 2011). * ''Justice: Faces of the Human Rights Revolution'' (Damiani: 2013). * ''Lifeline'' (Ivorypress: 2017). * ''Economists'' (Yale University Press: 2020).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Mariana American fine art photographers American portrait photographers 1955 births Living people 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers 20th-century American women photographers 21st-century American women photographers