Eliot Porter

Who was Eliot Porter?

Eliot Furness Porter, an American photographer, is renowned for his vibrant color photographs of nature. He was born on December 6, 1901, and passed away on November 2, 1990. Notably, Eliot Porter's brother, Fairfield Porter, was a realist painter and art critic. His brother-in-law, Michael W. Straus, held a position as a commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Eliot was initially married to Marian Brown in 1927, but they divorced in 1934. In 1936, he married Aline Kilham, and together they relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, settling in Tesuque, New Mexico from 1946 onwards.

Eliot Porter attributed his deep appreciation for nature and his dedication to scientific accuracy to his father, James Porter. As an amateur photographer from a young age, he found his early inspiration while capturing images of birds on Great Spruce Head Island in Maine, which was owned by his family. Porter pursued his education at Harvard College, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemical engineering. He furthered his studies at Harvard Medical School, earning a Doctor of Medicine degree. Following his graduation, he remained at Harvard as a medical researcher. It is worth mentioning that one of Eliot Porter's five siblings was Fairfield Porter, the painter and art critic.

Southern American Redstart, male. Photo creditis: United States National Museum; Smithsonian Institution; United States. Dept. of the Interior, via Wikipedia.

Photography

Fairfield Porter played a pivotal role in introducing his older brother to Alfred Stieglitz, a prominent photographer and gallerist, around 1930. Impressed by Eliot Porter's work, Stieglitz encouraged him to further develop his skills. Finally, in 1938, Stieglitz showcased Eliot's photographs, taken with a Linhof view camera, at his renowned gallery in New York City called An American Place. The exhibition was a tremendous success, prompting Eliot Porter to commit himself fully to a career in photography.

Eliot Porter's interest in color photography was sparked when a publisher rejected his proposal for a book on birds, citing that black and white images wouldn't effectively distinguish different species. In response, Porter began experimenting with a new color film called Kodachrome, introduced in 1935. However, capturing fast-moving birds posed significant technical challenges. Drawing upon his background in chemical engineering and research, Porter conducted extensive experiments until he achieved satisfactory results.

In 1943, Eliot Porter's bird photographs were showcased in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, marking the first-ever exhibition of color photographs at the prestigious institution. He also published a book titled "American Birds: 10 Photographs in Color" in 1953. In 1955, his solo exhibition at the Limelight Gallery in NYC served as a retrospective of his work.

For twenty years, Porter worked on a project combining nature photographs with quotes from Henry David Thoreau's works. However, it wasn't until an associate introduced him to the executive director of the Sierra Club that he found a willing publisher. His book "In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World" was published in 1962, featuring his color nature studies of the New England woods. Despite its high price, the book achieved significant success, pioneering the genre of nature photography coffee-table books. This success elevated Porter's reputation, and he served as a director of the Sierra Club from 1965 to 1971. In 1971, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 1979, Eliot Porter's work was exhibited in "Intimate Landscapes," the first solo exhibition of color photography at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This exhibition solidified Porter's credibility in establishing color photography as a medium of fine art. His intimate landscape compositions, characterized by close-range, quiet natural elements with subtle colors and rich textures, became his signature style, distinguishing him from more grand and spectacular landscapes.

Porter extensively traveled to capture photographs of ecologically important and culturally significant places. He published books featuring photographs from various locations such as Glen Canyon in Utah, Maine, Baja California, the Galápagos Islands, Antarctica, East Africa, and Iceland. Additionally, he explored cultural subjects in Mexico, Egypt, China, Czechoslovakia, and ancient Greek sites. His book on Glen Canyon, titled "The Place No One Knew," documented the appearance of the canyon before it was submerged by the Lake Powell reservoir.

The publication of James Gleick's book "Chaos: Making a New Science" in 1987 led Eliot Porter to reevaluate his work in the context of chaos theory. They collaborated on a project that resulted in the publication of "Nature's Chaos" in 1990, combining Porter's photographs with a new essay by Gleick. Eliot Porter passed away in 1990 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and his personal archive was bequeathed to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas.

Photographic Process

During a time when color photography was often dismissed as too literal for artistic expression, Eliot Porter boldly embraced the medium. His groundbreaking book, "In Wildness is the Preservation of the World," played a pivotal role in reshaping the perception of color photography as fine art. This publication marked the beginning of a series of color books published by the Sierra Club, featuring the works of various artists, and served as the first of Porter's impressive collection of twenty-five monographs of color photographs.

Having honed his skills in black and white camera techniques and darkroom printing during his teenage years, Porter established himself as a master printer with a growing reputation by the late 1930s. In 1939, he delved into the realm of color photography, gradually shifting his focus almost exclusively towards this medium by the 1950s. Porter became well-versed in Kodak's intricate dye transfer color printing process, which provided him with precise control over hues and produced color prints with remarkable stability. From 1962 onward, he enlisted professional printers to create his prints, which he would then carefully mount and touch up.

Utilizing a medium format view camera that accommodated 4 x 5 inch film sheets, mounted on a sturdy tripod, Porter captured his images. For photographing birds, a subject dear to him, he employed a system of strobe lights, dedicating several hours to meticulously composing each scene.

The Dye Transfer process was instrumental in his ability to produce full-color prints directly from the film exposed in the camera. This intricate technique involved exposing three inter-negatives through red, green, and blue filters, derived from the original color film. These separation negatives were then used to create gelatin reliefs, capable of absorbing dyes in precise proportion to the densities of the negatives. The matrices were dyed with complementary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) and applied to the paper with meticulous alignment, alongside highlight and shadow masks. The dyes would migrate to the base of the paper through the acidic process, resulting in the final vibrant print.

Questions and answers    

• What is Eliot Porter known for?         

Eliot Porter, whose full name was Eliot Furness Porter, was an American photographer celebrated for his meticulous and stunning color photographs of birds and landscapes. He was born on December 6, 1901, in Winnetka, Illinois, and passed away on November 2, 1990, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.    

• What is Eliot Porter's most famous photo?         

One of Porter's most significant contributions is embodied in his remarkable limited edition portfolios, showcasing breathtaking dye transfer prints. These portfolios, including GLEN CANYON (1980), IN WILDNESS (1981), TREES (1988), and CERTAIN PASSAGES (1989), stand as a testament to his ability to capture the awe-inspiring colors, essence, and serene beauty of the American wilderness. These portfolios represent Porter's enduring legacy and his mastery in preserving the captivating allure of nature through his photographs.    

• Why is Eliot Porter important in photography?         

Throughout his lifetime, Porter maintained his passion for photographing birds during the spring season. However, it was his color landscape photographs, crafted meticulously using the precise dye transfer process, that brought him the greatest recognition. These works became a pioneering model for appreciating and experiencing nature, revolutionizing the way people perceived and admired the natural world.    

• How did Ansel Adams influence Eliot Porter?         

In 1930, Eliot Porter acquired a Leica camera, which marked the beginning of his photographic journey. Three years later, he encountered the impactful works of Ansel Adams, whose photographs deeply resonated with Porter. Inspired by Adams, Porter received encouragement to explore the possibilities of using a large-format camera. This pivotal moment led Porter to cross paths with Alfred Stieglitz, who recognized the merit of his work. Stieglitz showcased Porter's photographs at his renowned gallery, An American Place, in 1939. This exhibition proved to be a turning point in Porter's life as he made the decision to dedicate himself fully to a career in photography.    

• How did Porter continue to improve his photographic technique?         

Porter's expertise lay in the realm of color photography. He acquired the skill of creating separations from his color photographs, enabling him to employ the intricate and challenging dye transfer printing process. This technique involved the creation of color separations, which consisted of individual black and white film sheets exposed through specific color filters. Mastering this complex process was essential for Porter to achieve his desired results in printing his color photographs.

Summary

Eliot Porter, a renowned photographer of the 20th century, is highly recognized for his contemplative and intimate landscapes, as well as his vividly colored bird images, which elevated the realms of color and nature photography to the realm of fine art. Early in his career, he received encouragement from his brother Fairfield Porter, who was a painter and critic, as well as renowned photographers Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz. Inspired by their support, Porter made the decision to pursue photography as his profession.

In the early 1940s, Porter transitioned from using black-and-white film to the revolutionary Kodachrome color film. This change enabled him to capture stunning images over the following decades, establishing color photographs as legitimate and valuable works of art. His dedication and skill were recognized with a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941, and his exhibition titled "Birds in Color: Flashlight Photographs" was showcased at the Museum of Modern Art in 1943.

From the 1950s onwards, Porter embarked on a series of global journeys, exploring diverse locations such as Mexico, California, the Galápagos Islands, Greece, Africa, Antarctica, and China, among others. Throughout his extensive career spanning several decades, Porter published 25 books that documented his remarkable photographic works.