Rogovin, Milton, 1909-2011

Social documentary photographer.

From the description of Milton Rogovin papers, 1928-2006 (bulk 1960-2003). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 706471000

Milton Rogovin, born December 30, 1909 in New York City, was trained as an optometrist at Columbia University, where he received his degree in 1931. He moved to Buffalo, New York in 1939, where he established his own optometric pratice on Chippewa Street near the city's Lower West Side. This region of the city would serve as a source of material for Rogovin's career as a photographer. His first photographic project, begun in 1958, was a series of photographs taken of storefront churches in Buffalo's African-American community. This series churches was followed by other series that documented the lives of workers and people living in poverty. These series included more work in Buffalo's Lower West Side where he was able to photograph the same people over the course of three decades of their lives. He also photographed coal miners in Appalachia, Scotland, France, China, Mexico, and Spain. Rogovin is quoted as saying, "The rich have their photographers, I photograph the forgotten ones."

From the description of Photographs of Storefront Churches and Musicians in Buffalo, 1958-1961 [graphic]. (SUNY at Buffalo). WorldCat record id: 58534755

Biographical Note

• 1909, Dec. 30: Born, New York, N.Y.
• 1931: B.S. in optometry, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
• 1932 - 1938 : Optometrist, New York, N.Y., attended classes at the New School for Social Research, New York, N.Y.
• 1938: Moved first to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and then to Buffalo, N.Y. Charter member, United Optical Workers Local Union Member, American League Against War and Fascism, and fund-raiser in support of the Republican forces in Spain
• 1939: Opened his own optometry practice, Buffalo, N.Y.
• 1942: Married Anne Setters (died 2003)
• 1942 - 1945 : Served in the U.S. Army as an optometrist, 1944-1945, stationed in England
• 1944 - 1962 : Anne and Milton Rogovin under Federal Bureau of Investigation surveillance for their political activities
• 1945: Returned to Buffalo, N.Y., and his optometry practice
• 1953 - 1957 : Intermittent travels to Mexico, first serious photographic work
• 1957: Summoned before the House Committee on Un-American Activities Invited by William Tallmadge, a music professor, Rogovin began photographing African-American storefront churches, Buffalo, N.Y.
• 1961: Began photographing Buffalo, N.Y.'s East Side community
• 1962 - 1971 : Frequent trips to Appalachia to make photographs
• 1967: Traveled to Chile to make photographs and to collaborate with Pablo Neruda
• 1972: M.A. in American Studies, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. Began photographic documentation of Lower West Side of Buffalo, N.Y. Traveled to Soviet Union but was stymied in his attempt at photographic work
• 1972 - 1974 : Teacher of social documentary photography, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y.
• 1975: First major exhibition, “Milton Rogovin: Lower West Side, Buffalo, New York,” Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y. Published Milton Rogovin: Lower West Side, Buffalo, New York / James N. Wood; with an appreciation by Paul Strand. Buffalo, N.Y.: Albright-Knox Gallery
• 1976: Began “Working People” series
• 1978: Retired from optometry to work full time in photography
• 1981 - 1990 : Traveled to France, Scotland, Spain, Cuba, China, Germany, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Czechoslovakia, and Appalachia to make photographs for his “Family of Miners” series.
• 1985: Published Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones / interview by Cheryl Brutvan; with essays by Robert J. Doherty and Fred Licht. Seattle: University of Washington Press Published Windows that Open Inward: Images of Chile / photographs by Milton Rogovin; poems by Pablo Neruda; edited by Dennis Maloney; introduction by Pablo Neruda. Buffalo, N.Y.: White Pine Press
• 1992 - 1994 : Returned to the Lower West Side of Buffalo, N.Y., to complete his “Triptychs,” images of individuals and families taken over the course of twenty years
• 1993: Published Portraits in Steel / Photographs by Milton Rogovin; Interviews by Michael Frisch. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press
• 1994: Published Triptychs: Buffalo's Lower West Side Revisited / photographs by Milton Rogovin; foreword by Robert Coles; introduction by Stephen Jay Gould; text by JoAnn Wypijewski. New York: W.W. Norton Honorary doctorate, State University of New York at Buffalo and Buffalo State College, Buffalo, N.Y.
• 1997: Due to low vision from cataracts, sold his Rolleiflex camera and began writing his autobiography
• 2000: After successful cataract surgery, bought back his camera and returned to Lower West Side of Buffalo, N.Y., to interview and photograph subjects from his earlier “Triptychs” series
• 2003: Exhibit of the Lower West Side “Quartets” Published Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones / [with] Dave Isay, David Miller and Harvey Wang. New York: Quantuck Lane Press
• 2004: Published With Eyes and Soul: Images of Cuba / poems by Nancy Morejón: photographs by Milton Rogovin; edited by Dennis Maloney; translated by Pamela Carmell and David Frye. Buffalo, N.Y.: White Pine Press
• 2005: Published Milton Rogovin: The Mining Photographs / essay by Judith Keller. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum
• 2011, Jan. 18: Died, Buffalo, N.Y.

From the guide to the Milton Rogovin Papers, 1928-2006, (bulk 1960-2003), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)