Willard Van Dyke miscellaneous acquisitions collection

Willard Van Dyke born December 5, 1906 in Denver, Colorado. The family settled in Los Angeles, California in 1916. Van Dyke attended University of California, Berkeley and began to photograph seriously in 1927. During the late 1920’s he met Edward Weston, with whom he travelled and photographed on two occasions. Van Dyke, along with Weston, Ansel Adams and others founded Group f64 in 1932. Van Dyke exhibited with the group and had solo exhibitions at various galleries. He made his first film, now lost, a result of a 1934-1935 trip with WPA photographer Dorothea Lange and others. He moved to New York City in 1935 and photographed commercially for prominent publications. In 1937, Van Dyke worked on his first professional film, The River, and founded American Documentary Films, Inc. with Ralph Steiner. Van Dyke became a full-time filmmaker/producer, giving up still photography. As a result of their film The City, Steiner and Van Dyke came to be considered the fathers of documentary filmmaking. Van Dyke continued to make documentary films in the role of cameraman, director, producer, or script writer until 1968.

In 1964, he was appointed director of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art where he worked until his retirement in 1974. While at MoMA Van Dyke developed film series, established preservation programs, a Film Study Center and film forums. He also curated MoMA’s 1975 Edward Weston retrospective exhibition. From 1972-1981 he taught film production at SUNY Purchase, NY, established a film department, and became Department Chair. He returned to still photography in 1977, worked in color for the first time, and began exhibiting at various galleries. In 1979 and 1980 he received Ford Foundation Fellowships to photograph in Ireland. He moved to Santa Fe in 1980 and continued to exhibit and give lectures around the country. In 1986 while on the road, he suffered his fourth myocardial infarction and died January 23 in Jackson, Tennessee.