Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Morley Baer Photographs
- Dates:
- 1945-1996
- Creators:
- Baer, Morley
- Extent:
- 168 Linear Feet 295 boxes; 4 framed items
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Morley Baer Photographs. MS 6. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains the commercial work and fine art photography of Morley Baer, including vintage and estate photographs, proof prints, negatives and transparencies, portfolios and framed prints. Also included are biographical materials, correspondence, and business papers relating to educational workshops, fine art exhibits, publications, and lectures.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Morley Baer was an internationally known photographer and teacher who documented iconic images of the California and the Central Coast, Bay Area architecture, and the Southwest.
Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1916, Morley Baer graduated from the University of Michigan in 1939 with a master's degree in English.
He served in the Navy during World War II, photographing the Atlantic theater and under Edward Steichen, documenting the war in the Pacific.
He left his career in advertising in favor of photography after accompanying a photographer friend on an assignment. He worked as a photographer's assistant learning his craft from the ground up.
Morley Baer made his first pilgrimage to Carmel in 1939, in search of Edward Weston, whose photographs he had seen at a Chicago exhibition.
He moved to California permanently in 1946. Mr. Baer applied for an apprenticeship with Weston, only to be turned down. Later, the two became good friends in a circle of local photographers that also included the late Ansel Adams.
Working primarily with large-format cameras, Morley Baer was best known for his black-and-white landscape and architectural photographs. He received the National Award for Photography from the American Institute of Architects in 1965 and in 1979 was the first photographer to receive the coveted Prix de Rome from the American Academy.
Mr. Baer's photographs were exhibited internationally for more than four decades.
He was also a teacher, serving during the late 1950s as chairman of the photographic department at the San Francisco Art Institute, and held numerous workshops through private and public institutions such as the University of California.
Morley Baer died in 1995 at the age of 79.
Examiner News Services, San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 1995.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Photography, Artistic
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-12-09 13:31:53 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required to access negatives and proof prints (boxes 142-291) so that they can be retrieved from storage. Please contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the Morley Baer Photography Trust (www.morleybaer.com). UCSC Special Collections and Archives requires written permission from the copyright holder to allow reproduction of this material. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
- Preferred citation:
-
Morley Baer Photographs. MS 6. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Location of this collection:
-
Special Collections and Archives, University Library1156 High StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95064, US
- Contact:
- (831) 459-2547