Reginald Heron archive

Reginald Heron was a photographer, an experimenter, and an enthusiast. But most of all, he was an educator, known (and loved) by his students at Indiana University at Bloomington and by his peers worldwide.

Reginald Heron was born in France in 1932 to British parents, Reginald and Kathleen Heron. During World War II, the family lived for a time in Portugal, returning to England and France after the war ended. His parents divorced at some point; Heron and his mother had a close and loving relationship. In 1952, at age 19, he moved to the U.S. where he lived in New York City and Cincinnati and, finally, Chicago. He worked at Marshall Fields, did some technical writing for the American Technical Society, was a lab tech for the Baldwin Piano Company. When he became ill (possibly mononucleosis) in 1954, he returned to his mother's home in Lavandou, France to recover. When he was healthy again, Reg attended college and worked for Ilford in England. Around 1956, he returned to the United States, moving to Chicago where he earned Bachelor's (1963) and Master's (1966) degrees in photography from the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology. His Master's thesis examined the formation of groups and the choreography of crowds in photography. Much of his early work chronicles crowds of people in city scenes, an observer's view of mid-century America.

After graduation, Heron moved to Rochester, New York, to become Assistant Curator for the Equipment Archives at the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House. In 1970, Heron's mentor Henry Holmes Smith, hired him to teach photography in the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. The two men became fast friends. Smith groomed Heron to succeed himself as head of the photography department at Indiana when Smith retired. When Heron's advancement was questioned, Smith wrote letters and made phone calls promoting Heron's candidacy and eventual appointment. Heron remained at the school until his retirement 26 years later.

Heron married and divorced three times during his 20s and 30s. In 1977, he married Karen Donne Vitelli, an anthropologist. This marriage stuck; the two were together the rest of Heron's life. Vitelli's work took them to Greece numerous times during their years together. While there, Heron photographed the environment; some of his most notable images are Greek streetscapes, usually at night.

Heron retired in 1996 and was named professor emeritus at Indiana University. He and Vitelli moved to a small town in western Maine where Heron continued to photograph and began working with digital photography. During this time, he was fighting cancer; Heron died in 2012.

1932

Reginald Heron born to British parents Reginald Forde Heron and Kathleen Mary in Marseilles, France on September 24

1940

Family left France for Portugal during WWII

1952

Heron arrived in New York from London on November 28. Spent some time in NY City then moved to Cincinnati where he worked as a lab tech for The Baldwin Piano Company, which he described in a letter to his mother as: "building and wiring electronic models, making routine electrical tests, etc."

1953

Moved to Chicago to go to school. Worked briefly at Marshall Fields. Worked at American Technical Society, publisher of vocational training materials

March 1954

Returned to Lavandou, France to recover after becoming ill in the U.S.

1954-1956

Lived in England; attended Tonbridge and Guilford schools in England and London University. Also attended La Sorbonne in Paris

ca. 1956

Reg returned to United States; married Joanne Schmidt

1957-1958

Served in U.S. Army, stationed in Ludwigsburg, Germany in 1957; Mannheim, Germany in 1958. Received U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal in 1958; divorced from Joanne Schmidt Heron

1958

Moved to Chicago where he returned to job as a technical editor for American Technical Society

1959

Reg's father died

1958-1966

Heron lived in Chicago, attending school and working; married Jayne Saltzman in 1961; divorced in 1966

1963

BS degree in photography from the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology

1965-1966

Taught at the New Bauhaus/School of Design in Chicago

1966

MS degree in photography from the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology

1966-ca. 1970

Assistant Curator for the Equipment Archives at the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester; married Ninette Rawas in 1967; later divorced

1970-1996

Hired by his mentor Henry Holmes Smith, taught in the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, for the next 26 years

1977

Married Karen Donne Vitelli

1996

Retired at age 63, named professor emeritus at Indiana University

2003

Moved to Dresden in western Maine, population approx. 1,500

2012

Died on December 15 in Dresden, Maine