Aaron Siskind

Aaron Siskind was a New York City-born photographer who began his artistic career in 1930 after working as a high school English teacher. From 1933 until 1941, he was a member of the Film and Photo League in New York, a group of documentary photographers focused on addressing the social conditions of the city. His lively and detail-oriented work served as a notable contribution to the development of avant-garde art in America. During their shared breakthrough, Siskind became close friends with important abstract expressionist painters such as Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning. Siskind was head of the Department of Photography at Chicago’s Institute of Design from 1961 to 1971. Over the course of his career, Siskind received many recognitions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.