Ray Atkeson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image

File:Magic mile usfs 499443.jpg
A Ray Atkeson photo of the 1940s Magic Mile chairlift on Mount Hood is preserved in the US Forest Service archives

Ray Atkeson (February 13, 1907 – May 25, 1990) was a U.S. photographer best known for his landscape images, particularly of the American West.[1] His best known photographs are black and white prints, many still popular in galleries, stores, books, traveling art exhibitions, and screensavers. His awards include:

  • 1977 Distinguished Citizen of Oregon[2]
  • Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Linfield College[3]
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • 1986 Oregon Governor's Art Award[4]
  • Oregon state Photographer Laureate (1987–1990).[5]

Career

Ray Atkeson was a commercial photographer in Portland, Oregon for eighteen years 1928–1946 after arriving in Oregon in 1927. His industrial photographs captured activity at the Columbia Steel Casting Company[6] to women building warships for World War II.[7] From 1946 to 1973 he was a free lance photographer and published several photo compilations. The photobooks are mostly of Oregon and Washington,[8] but later work included California.[9]

Atkeson lugged around heavy 4x5 Speed Graphic camera equipment to photograph winter mountain scenes before the chairlift was invented.[10] Among his subjects were Errol Flynn, Yosemite, and many of the Oregon and Washington Cascade mountains. Alan Engen[11] called Atkeson "the finest ski photographer ever."[12] In his later years his granddaughter Karen Schmeer assisted him with his work, including driving him to photo-shoot locations after his eyesight began to fail.[13]

Atkeson maintained two homes: one on the Oregon Coast, the other in Portland.

Atkeson was one of the chief petitioners for the successful Oregon Ballot Measure 7 (1988) which added Script error: No such module "convert". to the Oregon Scenic Waterway System.

Books

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Legacy

A Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail is marked at Sparks Lake, Oregon.

The Ray Atkeson Photography Collection was donated to the University of Oregon in 2018. It contains over 250,000 negatives which are available to researchers.[14]

His photographs were featured in a 2021–2022 exhibit "Freeze the Day! A History of Winter Sports in Oregon" at the Oregon Historical Society.[15]

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. King, Warren (May 29, 1990) Ray Atkeson, Nature Photographer Seattle Times
  2. Stone, Jason (2018) Ray Atkeson’s celebrated photos of the Northwest gifted to the UO University of Oregon
  3. Cole, Tara (2022) Capturing a Winter Wonderland: Photography by Ray Atkeson Oregon Historical Society
  4. GovernorsArtsAwards Oregon Arts Commission
  5. obituary New York Times 1990/05/27
  6. Atkeson, Ray Oregon History Project
  7. Iona Murphy at Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland (1943) Oregon History Project
  8. D'Addario, Jade (2019) Ray Atkeson photograph collection, 1969 Orbis Cascade Alliance
  9. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. Ray Atkeson at duncanmillergallery
  11. Stone, Jason (2018) Ray Atkeson’s celebrated photos of the Northwest gifted to the UO University of Oregon
  12. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. "Freeze the Day" press release

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Template:Authority control