Joan Liftin collection

Joan Liftin is an American photographer and photo editor. She was born in Teaneck, NJ, in 1935 and grew up in New York City. Liftin studied modern dance at the Connecticut Dance School before pursuing a degree in journalism at Ohio State University, where she received a BA in 1957. Liftin danced with the Ann Halprin, Weland Lathrop, and Jose Limon companies until 1971. She began her photography career while working as a photo editor at the United Nations from 1971-1975. Liftin photographed assignments for UNICEF in Haiti, Peru, Chile, Algeria, and Iran while at the U.N. In 1975 Liftin joined the staff of Magnum, and served as the Director of the Magnum Photo Library until 1980.

During her time at Magnum in the late 1970s Liftin began to develop an independent photographic practice. She directed the International Center for Photography’s Documentary and Journalism program from 1989-2001. She married fellow photographer Charles Harbutt in 1978. Liftin has received a CAPS grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and in 2010 she was the recipient of the Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant. Her work is included in the collections of the Center for Creative Photography, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Princeton University, among others.