Walter George Chandoha
Born(1920-11-30)November 30, 1920
Bayonne, New Jersey
DiedJanuary 11, 2019(2019-01-11) (aged 98)
Annandale, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Alma materN.Y.U. School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance
OccupationPhotographer
SpouseMaria Ratti Chandoha
WebsiteChandoha Photography

Walter George Chandoha (November 30, 1920 – January 11, 2019) was a prolific photographer, known especially for his photographs of animals and particularly of cats. Additional subjects for which he is known are fruits, vegetables, flowers, and New York City street scenes. Over his long career, his archive grew to more than 225,000 photographs including approximately 90,000 photographs of cats.[1] Hyperallergic called him "the one cat photographer to rule them all."[2]

Early life

He began taking photographs as a child using his family's Kodak camera and later joined a camera club in Bayonne where he learned darkroom skills. After graduating from Bayonne High School,[3] he worked as an assistant to illustrator Leon de Voss.[4]

Career

Chandoha was drafted into the army during World War II where he served as a press photographer and then as a combat photographer in the Pacific War theater. In 1949, he was graduated from N.Y.U. School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance under the G.I. Bill.[1]

That same year he married Maria Ratti and they moved into an apartment in Queens, New York. On his way home from classes at NYU one night that winter, he found a kitten shivering in the snow. The kitten, Loco, became one of his favorite subjects.[1][4] His enjoyment of photographing that cat prompted him to become a free-lance photographer and he eventually specialized in photographs of cats.[5] His preferred method for photographing cats was to meet them at their eye level.[1] The couple later moved to a farm in New Jersey where they raised their six children,[5][1] often adding his children to the photographs to portray the interactions between young kids and cats.[6]

His photographs have been used on more than 300 magazine covers and in thousands of advertisements.[7] He authored at least 34 books,[7] including Walter Chandoha's Book of Kittens and Cats, Walter Chandoha's Book of Puppies and Dogs, How to Photograph Cats, Dogs, and Other Animals, How to Shoot and Sell Animal Photos, All Kinds of Cats, and Mind Your Manners!. He and his work have been the subject of many books and museum exhibitions.

Chandoha was once quoted as saying, "Cats are my favourite animal subject because of their unlimited range of attitude, posture, expression and coloration."[8]

Death

Chandoha died on January 11, 2019, in Annandale, New Jersey at the age of 98.[1] His last cat was Maddie, a rescue cat the family adopted from New Jersey in 2018.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sandomir, Richard (January 18, 2019). "Walter Chandoha, Photographer Whose Specialty Was Cats, Dies at 98". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ Dunne, Carey (January 16, 2016). "Success Secrets of a Famous Cat Photographer". Hyperallergic. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ Hildebrandt, Alexandra (August 7, 2019). "Kuschelige Zeiten: Warum uns Katzen erwärmen" [Cozy times: why cats warm us up]. XING (in German). Retrieved April 17, 2020. Die Fotografie faszinierte Walter Chandoha bereits in den späten 1930er- Jahren, als er Schüler an der Bayonne High School in New Jersey war. [Walter Chandoha became fascinated with photography in the late 1930s, when he was a student at Bayonne High School in New Jersey]
  4. 1 2 "Walter Chandoha: A Lifetime of Photography". Hunterdon Art Museum. 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Rich, Katey (August 27, 2019). "Walter Chandoha's Cat Photography: A 70-Year Love Story". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Walter Chandoha's purrfect cats – in pictures". The Guardian. August 14, 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "This man took cute cat photos before the internet was invented". October 17, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Walter Chandoha: The Cat Whisperer". PUSS PUSS magazine. December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
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