Eliot Porter

(American, 1901–1990)

Eliot Porter was an American photographer known for his richly colored images of the natural world. “Every photograph that is made whether by one who considers himself a professional, or by the tourist who points his snapshot camera and pushes a button, is a response to the exterior world,” the artist mused. “To something perceived outside himself by the person who operates the camera.” Born on December 6, 1901 in Winnetka, IL, his interest in nature was fostered by his family from a young age. He began photographing his family’s island property as a youth in Maine, before going on to study chemical engineering at Harvard University. After graduating in the mid-1930s, his brother the painter and art critic Fairfield Porter, encouraged his latent interest in photography and arranged introductions for him with both Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz. In the early 1940s, after having committed to pursue a career in photography, he began the transition from traditional black and white film to the new Kodachrome color film used by magazine photographers. Throughout the following decades, he published a number of critically acclaimed photography books, including In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World (1962), capturing the disappearing wilderness of America as well as the Galápagos Islands, Antarctica, and East Africa. The artist died on November 2, 1990 in Santa Fe, NM. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Related Categories

Photography

Related Artists

Ansel Adams, Ellen Auerbach, Edward Weston

Eliot Porter Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Eliot Porter (629 results)
Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, from , 1962

Eliot Porter

Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, from , 1962

Sale Date: November 10, 2012

Auction Closed

Photograph from In Wildness

Eliot Porter

Photograph from In Wildness

Sale Date: October 31, 2012

Auction Closed

Photograph from In Wildness

Eliot Porter

Photograph from In Wildness

Sale Date: October 31, 2012

Auction Closed

Photograph from In Wildness portfolio

Eliot Porter

Photograph from In Wildness portfolio

Sale Date: October 31, 2012

Auction Closed

Hepaticas, Oak Island, Maine, and..., 1957–1978

Eliot Porter

Hepaticas, Oak Island, Maine, and..., 1957–1978

Sale Date: October 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Intimate landscapes (portfolio of 10), 1956–1977

Eliot Porter

Intimate landscapes (portfolio of 10), 1956–1977

Sale Date: October 3, 2012

Auction Closed

In wildness (portfolio of 10), 1953–1981

Eliot Porter

In wildness (portfolio of 10), 1953–1981

Sale Date: October 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Certain passages (portfolio of 8), 1942–1976

Eliot Porter

Certain passages (portfolio of 8), 1942–1976

Sale Date: October 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Glen Canyon (portfolio of 10), 1961–1971

Eliot Porter

Glen Canyon (portfolio of 10), 1961–1971

Sale Date: October 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Certain Passages (Portfolio of Eight..., 1989

Eliot Porter

Certain Passages (Portfolio of Eight..., 1989

Sale Date: September 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, may 23...

Eliot Porter

Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, may 23...

Sale Date: May 18, 2012

Auction Closed

Adirondack Mountains, NY

Eliot Porter

Adirondack Mountains, NY

Sale Date: May 19, 2012

Auction Closed

Certain Passages (portfolio of 8), 1989

Eliot Porter

Certain Passages (portfolio of 8), 1989

Sale Date: May 18, 2012

Auction Closed

Iceland, Portfolio II (portfolio of 10), 1975

Eliot Porter

Iceland, Portfolio II (portfolio of 10), 1975

Sale Date: May 8, 2012

Auction Closed

Glen Canyon (portfolio of 9), 1960–1971

Eliot Porter

Glen Canyon (portfolio of 9), 1960–1971

Sale Date: May 8, 2012

Auction Closed

Certain Passages (portfolio of 7), 1942–1976

Eliot Porter

Certain Passages (portfolio of 7), 1942–1976

Sale Date: May 8, 2012

Auction Closed

River at sunset, 1962

Eliot Porter

River at sunset, 1962

Sale Date: April 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Certain passages (8 works), 1989

Eliot Porter

Certain passages (8 works), 1989

Sale Date: April 4, 2012

Auction Closed

California sunset, 1981

Eliot Porter

California sunset, 1981

Sale Date: March 17, 2012

Auction Closed

White flowers in black ash Cliff..., 1972

Eliot Porter

White flowers in black ash Cliff..., 1972

Sale Date: February 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Hidden passage, Glen Canyon, Utah, 1961–1971

Eliot Porter

Hidden passage, Glen Canyon, Utah, 1961–1971

Sale Date: December 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Juniper tree, Arches National Monument, Utah, 1958

Eliot Porter

Juniper tree, Arches National Monument, Utah, 1958

Sale Date: December 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (Nature study) (from China) (+ 2..., 1980

Eliot Porter

Untitled (Nature study) (from China) (+ 2..., 1980

Sale Date: December 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Glen Canyon (study) (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1961

Eliot Porter

Glen Canyon (study) (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1961

Sale Date: December 13, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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