The following is a short list, featuring twenty prominent, prolific and influential photographers from the 19th century through today. The list includes photographers from all genres including fashion, portraiture, landscape, documentary etc. This list is subjective and was partially selected based upon the collection of titles available through the Lincoln City Library collection. Students of photography and enthusiasts will find these to be some of the most commonly studied photographers. Professional photographers and historical photographer's photo books make an excellent study of composition, photographic technique and posing to name a few.

classic. Among the best of a class, of the highest quality in a group...a work that endures. -- Harper Handbook to Literature

Ansel Adams  [February 20, 1902 - April 22, 1984]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this photographer ]

American black and white landscape photographer and environmentalist.

        

Diane Arbus  [March 14, 1923 - July 26, 1971]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

American photographer and writer, who specialized in black and white, medium format portraiture off the beaten path.

        

Eugene Atget  [February 12, 1857 - August 4, 1927]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ website for this photographer at The Musuem of Modern Art ]

French street photographer who documented the streets and architecture of Paris.

        

Richard Avedon  [May 15, 1923 - October 1, 2004]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this photographer ]

American fashion and portrait photographer, published often in Vogue and Life.

        

Cecil Beaton  [January 14, 1904 -January 18 , 1980]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ images from Cecil Beaton in the National Portrait Gallery ]

English fashion and portrait photographer.

        

Julia Margaret Cameron  [June 11 , 1815 -January 26 , 1879]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ The Julia Margaret Cameron Trust ]

British photographer specialized in staged and celebrity portraiture.

        

Robert Capa  [October 22, 1913 - May 25, 1954]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ Robert Capa photography portfolio at Magnum Photos ]

Hungarian photojournalist, war photographer, and cofounder of Magnum photography.

        

Henri Cartier-Bresson  [August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ portraits by Henri Cartier-Bresson at the National Portrait Gallery ]

French photographer who was highly influential in the development of modern photojournalism.

        

Imogen Cunningham  [April 12, 1883 - June 24, 1976]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ The Imogen Cunningham Trust ]

Was an American photographer specializing in botanical, nude and industrial landscape photography.

      

George Eastman  [July 12, 1854 - March 14, 1932]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ George Eastman - His Life, His Legacy and His Estate ]

American innovator and entrepreneur, founder of Eastman Kodak company, inventor of roll film, and helped bring photography mainstream.

        

Alfred Eisenstaedt  [December 6, 1898 - August 24, 1995]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ Vineyard Time With Eisie -- a Biographical Remembrance ]

German-American photographer and photojournalist, used 35mm Leica rangefinder camera.

        

Walker Evans  [November 3, 1903 - April 10, 1975]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ Walker Evans entry at Luminous Lint website ]

American photographer noted for his use of a 8x10 camera as an FSA (Farm Security Administration) documentary photographer during the 1930s.

        

Lewis Hine  [September 26, 1874 - November 3, 1940]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

American sociologist and photographer who used his photos for social reform, which especially influenced child labor laws in the United States.

        

David Hockney  [July 9, 1937 - ]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this photographer ]

English artist and photographer, an influential British pop artist.

        

Dorothea Lange  [May 26, 1895 - October 11, 1965]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ Dorothea Lange images at the Museum of Modern Art ]

American photojournalist and documentary photographer, best known for her humanizing FSA work during the Depression.

        

Annie Leibovitz  [October 2, 1949 - ]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

American portrait photographer, famous for celebrity and fashion work for Vanity Fair magazine.

        

Robert Mapplethorpe  [November 4, 1946 - March 9, 1989]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for the Robert Mapplethorp Foundation ]

American photographer famous for large scale black and white photos.

        

Wright Marion Morris  [January 6, 1910 - April 25, 1998]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this photographer ]

American writer and photographer known for depicting the Great Plains.

        

Edward Steichen  [March 27, 1879 - March 25, 1973]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator.

        

Alfred Stieglitz  [January 1, 1864 - July 13, 1946]

[ Library Materials: Books By This Photographer | Books About This Photographer ]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ PBS website for Stieglitz - American Masters ]

American modern art enthusiast and photographer, instrumental in the development of photography recognized as an art form.

        

Plus one noteworthy extra:

Vivian Maier  [February 1, 1926 - April 21, 2009]

[ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for one of two curators of Maier's photos | official web site for second of two curators of Maier's photos ]

Amateur photographer who, over the course of a lifetime, took about 100,000 street shots in Chicago and New York but who never shared her pictures; her photographs were only "discovered" around the time of her death, and are now being recognized as masterful and significant work.