Michael Eastman

MICHAEL EASTMAN St.Louis, 1947

Michael Eastman stands out as one of the foremost contemporary photographic artists. A self-taught photographer for forty years, he has documented interiors and facades in various cities such as Havana, Paris, Rome, and New Orleans. His large-format photographs are characterized by visual precision, monumentality, and a painterly use of color. Eastman is known for his explorations of architectural forms and decaying structures, which create a narrative mystery of time and place. He still shoots on film, which he develops himself. An American from St. Louis, he has worked as a photographer for Life, Time, and American Photography, and his images have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as featured in successful books. His images are like an eye projected beyond the keyhole, beyond those cracks that entice the "Peeping Tom" in all of us who enjoy looking. His lens enters silent palaces, where luxury coexists with abandonment today. In the images taken in Cuba, particularly in Havana, the still vibrant colors of a grand past contrast - illuminated by the vibrant Caribbean light - not only with the decay of the palaces and mysterious architectures but also with that of the furnishings. Eastman's photographs, which have appeared in Time, Life, and American Photographer, are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and other prestigious institutions. Among his books are "Havana" (2011 Prestel), "Vanishing America" (2008 Rizzoli), and "Horses" (2003 Knopf), which is now in its fifth edition. Eastman resides in St. Louis.