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Son of the renowned photographer Imogen Cunningham, Partridge
began helping his mother in the darkroom at the age of five.
At seventeen he became Dorothea Lange’s apprentice, driving
her up and down the back roads of
California
as she created her indelible images of migrant laborers. In
1937 and 1938 he worked with Ansel Adams in Yosemite, taking
the now-famous photograph, “Ansel in the High Sierra, late
1930s.”
Intimately associated with the great
California
photographers of his time, Partridge absorbed all the
techniques his teachers could give him, yet he wears this
lineage lightly, dedicating himself to following the paths
down which his own genius leads him. For nearly 70 years he
has been a professional photographer, making breathtakingly
intimate portraits, devastating environmental statements,
stunning architectural images, and capturing telling moments
of California history.
In January 2003, the California Historical Society Press and
Heyday Books will publish Quizzical Eye: The Photography of
Rondal Partridge, by Sally Stein and Elizabeth Partridge (Rondal’s
daughter). The Oakland Museum and the California Historical
Society (San Francisco) open exhibits of Partridge’s work on
January 18, 2003, featuring his
California
and outdoor photography and his fine arts photography,
respectively.
Partridge, 85, lives in
Berkeley,
CA and still photographs every day.
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Rondal Partridge: A Chronology |
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1917 |
Born September 4, 1917, in San Francisco to photographer Imogen
Cunningham and etcher Roi Partridge, with twin brother Padraic. |
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1920-36 |
Raised near Mills College in Oakland, California, where his
father teaches art. |
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1922 |
Begins to spend time in the darkroom with Imogen. Learns to
develop film and make sun prints. |
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1932 |
Borrows a camera from Imogen and
begins taking photographs and developing, printing, and
selling them to his classmates and neighbors. |
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1934 |
Parents divorce. Partridge begins to assist Dorothea Lange
occasionally. |
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1936 |
Graduates from high school in January and follows the
California rodeo circuit, photographing the cowboys.
Returns to Berkeley and assists Dorothea Lange for wages of
one dollar a week, food, and cigarette money. |
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1937-39 |
Assistant to Ansel Adams in
Yosemite
National Park and to Horace Bristol, a
San Francisco
photographer working on magazine assignments. Continues to
work with Dorothea Lange. |
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1940 |
Works for the National Youth Administration, photographing in
the western part of the United States. Photographs archived in
the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Works as a
photojournalist for Black Star Publishing in
New York. |
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1941 |
Marries Elizabeth Woolpert, a
University of California law student. Joins the Navy in
October and begins service in Navy Intelligence as a
photographer. |
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1945 |
Daughter, Joan, is born. Partridge, discharged from the Navy
in the fall, establishes freelance photographic business,
primarily magazine and architectural photography.
Extensively photographs his family and the urbanization of
California. |
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1947 |
Son, Joshua John, is born. |
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1951 |
Daughter, Elizabeth, is born. |
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1953 |
Daughter, Margaret, is born. |
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1962 |
Son, Aaron, is born. |
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1963-75 |
Produces and directs films on painter Wayne Thiebaud; Yosemite National Park, Pave It and
Paint It Green; education, They’re Your Kids; and
water reflections, The Water Movie. Assembles The
Magic Lantern, a multi-projector presentation of
hand-painted slides for the Oakland Museum of California.
Photographs California’s growing pollution problems. |
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1972-73 |
Lecturer on photography and film at
University
of California, Santa Barbara. |
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1973-74 |
Lecturer on photography and film at
California
State University, Hayward. |
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1976 to present |
Trustee for the Imogen Cunningham
Trust. |
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1980 to present |
Master printer for the Imogen
Cunningham Trust. |
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1985 to present |
Develops an interest in platinum printing. Gradually
shifts his focus from silver printing to platinum. |
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Select
Publications and Exhibitions
Rondal Partridge’s photographs have been published in LIFE,
Time, Fortune, Harper's Bazaar, Look, Collier's, Scientific
American, House Beautiful, House and Home, Ladies' Home
Journal, Architectural Forum, Architectural Record,
Progressive Architecture, American Heritage, Sunset, Horizon,
Think, Audubon, Cry California, Sierra, and Educational
Facilities Laboratory publications. Many of his
photographs were included in Peter Blake's God's Own
Junkyard, William Bronson's How to Kill a Golden State,
and Thomas D. Church’s Gardens Are for People.
Partridge’s photographs appear in exhibitions and collections,
including the Golden Gate Exposition, 1939; Steichen’s
Family of Man; the Museum of Modern Art; the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Santa Barbara Museum of
Art; the California Academy of Sciences; the Louvre; the
National Archives; Fotografie Forum International; the Oakland
Museum of California; and the California Historical Society.
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For
additional information contact Charles Carroll at Green
Galactic: 323-466-5141 or
charles@greengalactic.com |
Green Galactic Los Angeles
323.466.5141
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