Dennis Stock (July 24, 1928 – January 11, 2010) was an American journalist and professional photographer.

Life and career

Stock was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to Fannie and Fred Stock. His father was Swiss and his mother was English. Stock served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1947 to 1951. Following his discharge, he apprenticed under photographer

Gjon Mili Gjon Mili (November 28, 1904 – February 14, 1984) was an Albanian photographer from Korçë who developed his profession in America, best known for his work published in Life (magazine), ''Life'', in which he photographed artists such as Pablo ...

. In 1951, he won a first prize in a ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine competition for young photographers. That same year, he became an associate member of the photography agency Magnum. He became a full partner-member in 1954. Stock met the actor

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

in 1955, a few months before the latter's sudden death. He undertook a series of photos of the actor in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, Dean's hometown in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and in New York City. One of his portraits of Dean in New York's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

became an iconic image of the young star. The black and white picture shows the actor with a pulled up collar on a long coat and a cigarette in his mouth on a rain-soaked, grey day. It later appeared in numerous galleries and on postcards and posters and became one of the most reproduced photographs of the post-war period. From 1957 until the early 1960s, Stock aimed his lens at

jazz musician This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources. Accordion * Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983) * Luciano Biondini (born 1971) * Asm ...

s, photographing such people as

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

(see for example,

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

Cover Photo). With this series of photographs he published the book ''Jazz Street''. In 1962, he received the first prize at the International Photo Competition in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1968, Stock left Magnum to start his own film company, Visual Objectives Inc., and made several documentaries, but he returned to the agency a year later, as vice president for new media and film. In the mid-1970s, he traveled to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, and also produced numerous features series, such as photographs of contrasting regions, like

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s he focused on color photography of nature and landscape, and returned to his urban roots in the 1990s focusing on architecture and modernism. In 2006, Stock married writer Susan Richards. They lived in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

, with their four dogs.

Film portrayals

In 2011, a documentary film '' Beyond Iconic: Photographer Dennis Stock'', narrated by Stock himself was released. It was completed before his death.

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. #Filmography, His filmography often sees him portraying eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Known for starring in both major studio productions and in ...

portrayed him in the biographical drama film ''

'' (2015), about Stock's friendship with James Dean.

Death

Dennis Stock died of colon and

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

.Dennis Stock: The man who made Jimmy live forever
. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.

Awards

* 1991, Advertising Photographers of America, USA * 1962, 1st Prize, International Photography Competition, Poland. * 1951, 1st Prize, ''Life'' Young Photographers Contest, USA

Publications

* ''Alaska'', USA: Harry N. Abrams, 1978 * ''The Alternative: Communal Life in New America'', UK: Collier-Macmillan, 1970 * ''America Seen'', France: Contrejour, 1980, * ''Brother Sun'', USA:

Sierra Club Books Sierra Club Books was the publishing division, for both adults and children, of the Sierra Club, founded in by then club President David Brower. They were a United States publishing company located in San Francisco, California with a concentrat ...

, 1974 * ''California: the Golden Coast'', with Philip L. Fradkin, USA: Viking Press/Studio Book, 1974, * ''California Trip'', USA: Grossman Publishers, 1970, * ''California Trip'', Brooklyn, NY: Anthology Editions, 2019, ISBN 978-1-944860-26-4 * ''The Circle of Seasons'', with Josephine W. Johnson, USA: Viking Press, 1974, * ''Edge of Life: World of the Estuary'', USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972 * ''Flower Show'', USA: Rizzoli, 1986; ''Impressions, fleurs'', France: Mengès, 1986 * ''A Haiku Journey'', Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1974 * ''The Happy Year'', USA: Channel Press, Inc., 1963 * ''Hawaii'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, ; 1991, * ''I Grandi Fotografi : Dennis Stock'', Italy: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1982 * ''James Dean: Fifty Years Ago'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005, ; France: La Martinière, 2005. * ''James Dean Revisited'', USA: Viking Press/Penguin Books, 1978, ; USA: Shirmer & Mosel/Chronicle Books, 1987, * ''Jazz Street'', USA: Doubleday, 1960 * ''Jazz Welt'', Germany: Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1959 * ''Living Our Future : Francis of Assisi'', USA: Franciscan Herald, 1972 * ''Made in the U.S.A.'', Germany/USA: Cantz, 1995, * ''National Parks Centennial Portfolio'', USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972, * ''New England Memories'', USA: Bulfinch Press, 1989, * ''Plaisir du Jazz'', France: La Guilde du Livre, 1959 * ''Portrait of a Young Man, James Dean'', USA: Kadokawa Shoten, 1956 * ''Provence Memories'', USA: New York Graphic Society, ; Bullfinch Press, 1989, ; Provence, France: Le Chêne, 1988 * ''Saint Francis of Assisi'', with Lawrence Cunningham, USA: Harper & Row, 1981, ; ''Franziskus: Der Mann aus Assisi'', Switzerland: Reich Verlag, 1981 * ''This Land of Europe'', Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1976, * ''Voyage Poétique à Travers le Japon d'Autrefois'', Switzerland: Office du Livre, 1976

References

Washington Post: Dennis Stock, 81; Magnum photographer shot iconic moments

External links

''The New York Times'' "Lens Blog"

NYT Video
of Stock discussing his friendship with Dean
MAGNUM Photos – Official Website

Dennis Stock Photograph of James Dean, 1955

The film "Beyond Iconic - Photographer Dennis Stock" / 2011 / Directed by Hanna Maria Sawka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Dennis 1928 births 2010 deaths Photographers from New York City Deaths from colorectal cancer in Florida Deaths from liver cancer in Florida American people of Swiss descent Jazz photographers