Geraldine Sharpe
American photographer (1929–1968)
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Geraldine Sharpe (1929–1968), also known as Gerry Sharpe, was an American photographer.[1] She had worked as an assistant to Ansel Adams. Sharpe's two major bodies of work include photographs of landscapes, and of Ghana (from 1962).[2]
Geraldine Sharpe | |
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| Born | 1929 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 29, 1968 (aged 38–39) |
| Other name | Gerry Sharpe |
| Alma mater | San Francisco Art Institute |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Years active | 1950s–1968 |
Biography
Geraldine Sharpe was born in 1929 in Trenton, New Jersey.[3] She attended the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute), where she graduated in 1956.[3][2] She studied under Pirkle Jones and Bill Quandt.[4] While in school, her film camera was a Zeiss Ikon 120.[4]
After graduation she worked as a photo assistant for Ansel Adams between 1957 until 1962.[2] Many of her landscape photos were taken at the same locations as Adams, however her work had more dark tonal qualities and appeared "tragic" in subject and composition.[2]
In 1962, she was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for photography, which was used to work in Ghana.[2] In 1967, she helped co-found the Friends of Photography in Carmel, California.[3] At the time of her death in 1968 she was the director of photography at the Francis du Pont Winterhur Museum (now Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library) in Delaware.[3]
She died on December 29, 1968, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, after a short illness at the age of 39.[3] Her work is part of the museum collection at the Monterey Museum of Art.[5]