Marco Glaviano (Italian, b.1942) was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1942, and had his first solo show of drawings in 1948 at age six. He studied architecture at the University of Palermo, during which time he developed his interest in photography. He was involved in theater as a set designer, and was simultaneously playing and recording in a jazz group that participated in several international jazz festivals during the 1960s, where he first started taking photographs of fellow jazz musicians.

In 1967, Glaviano made the decision to pursue photography as a career, and moved, briefly, to Rome, then to Milan, establishing a studio where he lived and worked for eight years.

His photographs began appearing in major European fashion magazines, notably Italian Vogue, which eventually brought him to New York City where he established residence in 1975, and where he was soon under exclusive contract for American Vogue, and then, from 1982 to 1994, with Harper’s Bazaar.

Glaviano has continued to photograph fashion and beauty for the leading American and European magazines, and has achieved status in the fashion industry as one of the top photographers in the world, having photographed more than 500 covers and editorials for the most prestigious international publications.

In the 1980s, in collaboration with Elite Model Management founder, John Casablancas, and Elite president, Monique Pillard, he was influential in developing the supermodel phenomenon, and was chosen by Elite and supermodels Paulina Porizkova, Cindy Crawford, and Eva Herzigova to photograph all of their famous swimsuit calendars.

In 1995, Glaviano designed and founded PIER 59 STUDIOS in New York, which is still recognized as the most important photo studio in the world. His early interest in the new medium of digital photography led him to publish the first ever digital fashion picture in American Vogue in 1982.

During his long career, he has been a consultant for Kodak, Fuji, Hasselblad, Phase One, Sinar, and Scitex to advance the cause of digital photography. In 2001, he developed, with partner Tommy Wirz, MILANOSTUDIO in Milan, which is a showcase for digital photography.

Glaviano has published 13 books, featuring his own personal photographs of the most famous models of the last few decades, as well as on his other passions: jazz, portraits, and landscapes. Glaviano has had 20 solo exhibitions in New York, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Milan, Moscow, Palermo, and Capri, and his artworks are part of many important private collections worldwide.

Glaviano has also photographed many major advertising campaigns for clients such as Loreal, Revlon, Calvin Klein, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, and many others. His interests in film and video have led him to direct a number of TV commercials and short films on music, fashion, and beauty in America and Europe. Splitting his time between New York and Milan, Glaviano continues to produce beautiful photographs, comprising work in fashion, portraits, and landscapes. He recently had his first major solo show in London coinciding with London Fashion week.