Famous Photographer #19

Bruce Davidson

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Born in 1933 and is still alive at the age of 83

He has been a Magnum Photos agency since 1958. His most known work is Harlem NYC.

When he was young his parents built a dark room in the basement and began to take photos.

His step dad was in the navy and gave Bruce a Kodak rangefinder but upgraded on his bar mitzvah.

He worked at a camera shop as a stock boy and was approached by local news photographer where he learned technical nuances of photography, in addition to lighting and printing skills including dye transfer colour.

His artistic influences included Robert Frank and Cartier-Bresson.

his first big award for his photography, the 1952 Kodak National High School Photographic Award.

He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology. Continued his studies at Yale University, studying philosophy, painting, and photography.

Drafted into the US Army, where he served in the Signal Corps, Where he would have photo assignments.

He did a series on homeless and troubled kids after photographing them over 11 months produced Brooklyn Gang .

He also did work for Vogue also became an instructor at the School of Visual Arts, New York.

Famous Artist #9

Sean Scully

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Born 1945 and is 74

Irish-born American-based painter and printmaker.

During his later teen years he worked at a print shop in London as a typesetter.

he worked many jobs some being graphic design, and messenger, Scully attended evening classes at the Central School of Art.

In his younger years he took many trips to the Tate where he saw lot of famous works but Van Gogh's Chair had an impact on him.

Scully studied at Croydon College of Art and then graduated from Newcastle University.

He has shown his work widely in Europe and the United States, and is represented in the permanent collections of a number of museums and public galleries

He had his first exhibitions in China in 2015.

Hike #27

Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park NY. I have been here a few times but this time we took a tour and walked most of the grounds. There are views of the Hudson river. The guest house is where you can buy tickets to go into the house with a guided tour. Also in the guest house there is a gift shop. From the guest house you can walk to the main house and to the gardens.

Inside you get to see some of the rooms and how they would have looked. When I went you could not go to the 3rd floor because it was hot. Before you leave there is a spot you can pull over called the over look, great view of the land and the river.

Famous Artist #8

Jackson Pollock

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Born 1912 and died in 1956

He was a big factor in the abstract expressionist movement with his paintings, it also called action painting, since your using more movement than a normal painting.

His wife Lee Krasner was an influence on his work.

He went to Manual Arts High School in CA where he was expelled.

He studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League in NYC. Pollock learned rhythmic use of paint and his fierce independence were more lasting from him.

Pollocks paint pouring came from a workshop in NYC from David Alfaro Siqueiros. during that time he came up with whats known as his "drip" technique.

1938 to 1942 Pollock worked for the WPA Federal Art Project. during that time and through out his life he was a big drinker.

Hike #26

This is the Lewis A Swyer Preserve a few miles from Hike 25 in Styvasent. This one is a bit tricky to park since the parking lot is a strip next to the side of the road and there are no parking signs with arrows which was a bit confusing. There is also a small little trail but thats not the main trail. keep walking along side the road where you will a board walk with the info stand.

The whole trail is a board walk so you dont have to worry about walking in mud. There was a fallen down tree but it was easy to walk over when I went. There are a lot of flowers and plants on both sides and a lot of trees. The park is built around swamp land. There are a few bridges on the trail. Its a very nice spot if you want to walk and not have to worry about getting stuck or lost since the trail is a board walk. At the end of the trail there is a look out area that looks out at the river and the train tracks.