Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2023
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Quality Time With a Legend
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I first met George Krause at an exhibit of his work in 1974 at Photopia Gallery on South Street in Philadelphia. This was the first time I was introduced to his work and was taken immediately by his mastery of the craft. His early black and white street photography from the 1960’s are included in the canon of photographic history evidenced by his inclusion in the seminal publication in 1973, Looking at Photographs, 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art by John Szarkowski, who at the time was the director of photography at the MOMA.
We became friends when I invited him to exhibit his work while I was a graduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1977 to 1979. Here is a draft of a letter I sent to George regarding the invitation to exhibit his work at the institute and his response.
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George, now 86 years young called me on the eve of the recent annual Photo Review picnic as he and fellow octogenarians Larry Fink and Neal Slavin were being celebrated at this years event which was held at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa. On the eve of the celebrated gathering George mentioned that he was going to visit noted photographer Lawrence Salzmann at his charming home in Powelton Village the day before the picnic. Many thanks to W. Keith McManus for capturing this intimate moment with a dear friend and mentor to many photographers world wide.
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To access a gallery of his work and interview I conducted with George Krause in 2018, link here: https://tonywardstudio.com/gallery/george-krause-interview-with-a-legend/