Ray Atkeson
Memorial at Sparks Lake, Oregon
Born
Raymond Adelbert Atkeson

13 Feb 1907
Grafton, Illinois
DiedMay 25, 1990(1990-05-25) (aged 83)
Portland, Oregon
OccupationPhotographer
Years active1928–1987
Known forU.S. Northwest landscapes
Websitehttps://www.rayatkeson.com/
A Ray Atkeson photo of the 1940s Magic Mile chairlift on Mount Hood is preserved in the US Forest Service archives

Ray Atkeson (February 13, 1907 – May 25, 1990) was a U.S. photographer best known for his landscape images, particularly of the American West.[1] His best known photographs are black and white prints, many still popular in galleries, stores, books, traveling art exhibitions, and screensavers. His awards include:

  • 1977 Distinguished Citizen of Oregon[2]
  • Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Linfield College[3]
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • 1986 Oregon Governor's Art Award[4]
  • Oregon state Photographer Laureate (1987–1990).[5]

Career

Ray Atkeson was a commercial photographer in Portland, Oregon for eighteen years 1928–1946 after arriving in Oregon in 1927. His industrial photographs captured activity at the Columbia Steel Casting Company[6] to women building warships for World War II.[7] From 1946 to 1973 he was a free lance photographer and published several photo compilations. The photobooks are mostly of Oregon and Washington,[8] but later work included California.[9]

Atkeson lugged around heavy 4x5 Speed Graphic camera equipment to photograph winter mountain scenes before the chairlift was invented.[10] Among his subjects were Errol Flynn, Yosemite, and many of the Oregon and Washington Cascade mountains. Alan Engen[11] called Atkeson "the finest ski photographer ever."[12] In his later years his granddaughter Karen Schmeer assisted him with his work, including driving him to photo-shoot locations after his eyesight began to fail.[13]

Atkeson maintained two homes: one on the Oregon Coast, the other in Portland.

Atkeson was one of the chief petitioners for the successful Oregon Ballot Measure 7 (1988) which added 500 miles (800 km) to the Oregon Scenic Waterway System.

Books

  • Ray Atkeson, Merle W. Manly (1933). When winter comes ... West Coast Print. & Binding Co. OCLC 55672937.
  • Ray Atkeson (1960). Ski and Snow. New York: U.S. Camera Publishing. OCLC 3297328.
  • Ray Atkeson (1968). Oregon. Graphic Arts Center Publishing. ISBN 978-0-912856-00-1.
  • Atkeson, Ray (1969). Northwest Heritage: The Cascade Range. Portland, Oregon: Charles H. Belding. ISBN 978-0-912856-01-8.
  • photos by Ray Atkeson, text by Calvin Kentfield (1971). The Pacific Coast. Rand McNally & Company. ISBN 9780528818707.
  • Atkeson, Ray (January 1972). Oregon Coast. Portland, Oregon: Charles H. Belding. ISBN 978-0-912856-06-3.
  • Ray Atkeson, Paul M. Lewis (1974). Colorful California. Eugene, Oregon: Beautiful West Pub. Co. OCLC 1505477.
  • Archie Satterfield (1974). Oregon II. Photos by Ray Atkeson. Portland, Oregon: Charles H. Belding. ISBN 9780912856155.
  • Ross, Richard (June 1987). Oregon III. Ray Atkeson (Photographer). Graphic Arts Center Publishing. ISBN 978-0-932575-28-9.
  • Ray Atkeson (September 1989). Western Images. Graphic Arts Center Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55868-011-1.
  • Ray Atkeson (1998). Oregon, My Oregon. Graphic Arts Center Publishing. ISBN 1-55868-321-6.
  • Ray Atkeson (Photographer), Warren A. Miller (Author) (November 2000). Ski and Snow Country: The Golden Years of Skiing in the West, 1930s–1950s. Graphic Arts Center Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55868-538-3. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  • Ray Atkeson (2020). Vintage Skiing: nostalgic images from the golden age of skiing. Familius. ISBN 9781641702768.

Legacy

A Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail is marked at Sparks Lake, Oregon.

The Ray Atkeson Photography Collection was donated to the University of Oregon in 2018. It contains over 250,000 negatives which are available to researchers.[14]

His photographs were featured in a 2021–2022 exhibit "Freeze the Day! A History of Winter Sports in Oregon" at the Oregon Historical Society.[15]

References

  1. ↑ King, Warren (May 29, 1990) Ray Atkeson, Nature Photographer Seattle Times
  2. ↑ Stone, Jason (2018) Ray Atkeson’s celebrated photos of the Northwest gifted to the UO University of Oregon
  3. ↑ Cole, Tara (2022) Capturing a Winter Wonderland: Photography by Ray Atkeson Oregon Historical Society
  4. ↑ GovernorsArtsAwards Oregon Arts Commission
  5. ↑ obituary New York Times 1990/05/27
  6. ↑ Atkeson, Ray Oregon History Project
  7. ↑ Iona Murphy at Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland (1943) Oregon History Project
  8. ↑ D'Addario, Jade (2019) Ray Atkeson photograph collection, 1969 Orbis Cascade Alliance
  9. ↑ David J. Weber, Book Review Editor (Winter 1973). "Book Review, The Pacific Coast". The Journal of San Diego History. San Diego Historical Society. 19. Retrieved 2023-06-16. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ Ray Atkeson at duncanmillergallery
  11. ↑ Stone, Jason (2018) Ray Atkeson’s celebrated photos of the Northwest gifted to the UO University of Oregon
  12. ↑ "Ski Meister, quarterly journal of the Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation" (PDF). Spring 2006. p. 6. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  13. ↑ Navas, Melissa (January 31, 2010). "Portland native Karen Schmeer, 39, remembered as loyal friend, talented film editor". The Oregonian. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  14. ↑ Tom Adams and KVAL.com staff (2018-10-17). "'The Ansel Adams of the Pacific Northwest': UO now home to Ray Atkeson photo archive". Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  15. ↑ "Freeze the Day" press release
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