Gordon L. Bennett papers

Gordon Lynn Bennett was born April 1, 1933 in Decatur, Tennessee. From childhood Bennett had an interest in photography and art. Following his high school graduation in 1951, he attended East Tennessee State University until 1953. Bennett joined the United States Air Force and served from 1953-1957. While in the Air Force he worked in the darkroom for the first time. Following his discharge he took a position with the Curry Company, managing a transportation and touring office in Yosemite Valley. While there he saw and was inspired by the work of Ansel Adams.

During 1957-1958 Bennett studied painting and drawing at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, earning a B.A. His first formal study of photography began as a graduate student at San Francisco State College in 1960. While there, Bennett was a student of John Gutmann and Jack Welpott and in 1964 earned an M.A. in Art with an emphasis in photography. He had his first one man show at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1964.

During the 1960’s Bennett worked at a variety of jobs, teaching art in the San Francisco Public Schools, supervising photography facilities at San Francisco State and photographing gallery installations and artists’ works. In 1971 he taught briefly at SF Art Institute but decided to leave photography and began working in collage and assemblage.

Bennett was a lifelong artist, photographer, photography collector and dealer. While in college he began collecting vernacular photographs and over the years amassed a collection of 19th and early 20th century photographs that influenced curators, museum collections and enriched the history of photography. Bennett persuaded museum curators that vernacular photography was a legitimate subject for study. Over the years he loaned prints from his collections to museums, institutions and publications.

His most important discovery occurred in 1967 when he found two complete disbound albums of 19th century photographer Carleton E. Watkins’ New Series mammoth-plate prints of Yosemite and California Missions. The albums were unique, having survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and destruction of Watkin’s studio. In 1973 Bennett exhibited the 76 prints at Focus Gallery, San Francisco, thought to be the first exhibition of Watkin’s work since his death in 1916. Over the years he resisted offers to sell individual prints because he was committed to keeping the sets together. Bennett stated that he wished that them to be kept together and eventually placed in an institution particularly receptive to Watkins work. The California Mission set was ultimately placed in Special Collections at the University of California, Los Angeles. Bennett retained the Yosemite New Series for over thirty years after its discovery, occasionally lending prints out for exhibition. On April 28, 2004 Bennett sold the New Series, 40 mammoth plate photographs of Yosemite, at auction at Sotheby’s, New York. He donated his remaining collection of over 1,000 images to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Bennett worked on personal photography projects throughout his adult life. Working in 35mm and 4” x 5” formats he exhibited and sold his work. He stated that his photographs “must have an element of mystery” and hoped that “the image evokes meanings on several levels, not only the literal but also on that of the symbolic and the enigmatic”. He later incorporated “found” vernacular photographs into collages. During the 1990s he gave up collecting to concentrate on his personal art and photography. He received a Marin Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship for non-traditional media in 1991 and an Individual Artist Fellowship for sculpture in 1996. His works are in the collection of major museums in the United States.

In 1971 Bennett pioneered a publishing company, Homestead Productions that produced posters from the fine art photography of Imogen Cunningham, Wynn Bullock, and other California photographers.

Gordon Bennett died of a heart attack on November 25, 2012 at age 79 in Oakwood, Georgia.

Chronology

1933

Gordon Lynn Bennett born April 1 in Decatur, Tennessee

1949

Becomes actively interested in photography

1951

Graduated Meigs County High School, Tennessee

1951-1953

Attends East Tennessee State, Johnson City, Tennessee

1953-1957

Military service in U.S. Air Force

1954

First works in a photographic darkroom while in U.S. Air Force

1955-1956

Photographed ruins of three Roman cities in Libya in color to illustrate his paper “Roman Art in Tripolitania”

1957-1960

Manager, Transportation Office. Yosemite Park and Curry Company, Yosemite National Park. First sees work of Ansel Adams.

1957-1958

Undergraduate studies in painting and drawing at the Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, California; earns B.A.

1960-1965

Graduate studies at San Francisco State College, California; earns M.A., in Art with emphasis in Photography. Studies with Jack Welpott and John Gutmann

1962-1963

Student teacher in Art, Francisco Junior High School, San Francisco, California

1962-1963

Photographed early settlements and cemeteries in Northern California, using a 4” x 5” view camera. Images later part of his 1964 one-man show at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

1963-1964

Substitute Teacher, San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco

1964

Began photographic series on parades

1964

First one-man show, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California

1964-late 60s

Photography Technician and Supervisor of photography facilities in art department of San Francisco State College, San Francisco, California

1964-late 60s

Additional employment photographing gallery installations and artists’ works.

1965

Driving trip across U.S. Among photographs taken were those of rural people of East Tennessee where he grew up, including his uncle, Abner Bennett, and Abner’s wife, Flossie.

1965

Began a photo-study of Southern California in Los Angeles, concentrating on elderly living in public places and behind-the scenes at Hollywood film studios

1966

Photographs people and people-objects from San Francisco north into British Columbia. Began series of environmental portraits of West Coast artists

1967

Discovers disbound set of 76 mammoth-plate photographs of Yosemite and California missions from Carleton E. Watkins’ New Series in a San Francisco bookstore.

1967

Experimented with use of sandwiched negatives, his own and “found” negatives

1967

Photographed series on county fairs in rural California

1968

Continued photo-essay on Southern California. Concentrated on San Diego and Hollywood. Began to photograph cut-out figures and fake facades

1969

Continued work on Southern California, concentrating on Long Beach and Palm Springs areas

1969

Photographed student and faculty strike and aftermath at San Francisco State College. Series used to promote Art-in-the-Community program for the city of San Francisco

1970

Works on series of photographed television screen images

1971

Briefly teaches at San Francisco State College

1971

Cuts back on his photography to work in other media, principally collage and assemblage

1971

Establishes publishing venture, Homestead Productions. Uses images by California photographers Wynn Bullock, Imogen Cunningham, Don Worth, and others. First printed posters to utilize fine-art photography

1973

Exhibits his collection of 76 Watkins’ mammoth-plate prints at Focus Gallery, San Francisco. First exhibition of Watkin’s work since his death in 1916

1975

Creates stage environments in U.S. and abroad

1976-1978

Resumes work with collage and assemblage

1978

Resumes photography and works solely in color, principally photographing natural scenes mostly at Point Reyes National Seashore

1979-1980

Continues to photograph. Works on book combining his photographs with his writing, but never submits for publication. Produces poems and essays

1981-1982

Photographs urban scene and man-built structures in the landscape

1987

Becomes private dealer in 19th and 20th century vintage prints

1991

Marin Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in Non-traditional Media

1996

Marin Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in Sculpture

1996

Begins offering Watkins’ Yosemite photographs from New Series for sale

2004

Auction of Bennett’s collection of Carlton Watkins New Series, 40 mammoth-plate photographs of Yosemite, April 28 at Sotheby’s, New York

2004

Donates his collection of over 1,000 images to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

2012

Dies of heart attack on November 25 at age 79 in Oakwood, Georgia

2015

Collection donated to CCP