Joel-Peter Witkin's Biography
*REPRESENTED EXCLUSIVELY IN THE UNITED STATES BY HASTED HUNT

Born 1939, Brooklyn, NY



SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2006
"Vintage Work" HASTED HUNT Gallery. New York, NY
"Cite Internationale des Arts". Paris, France
"Oeuvres recentes, Espace Jules Valles, Saint Martin d'Heres. Belgium

2005
Fahey/Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Catherine Edelman Gallery. Chicago, IL
Etherton Gallery. Tuscon, AZ

2004
Baudoin Lebon Gallery. Paris, France
“Heart Beats Dust,” Ricco/Maresca Gallery. New York, NY

2002
Stadische Museen. Jena, Germany
Infinito Gallery. Torino, Italy
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France
Ricco/Maresca Gallery. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA

2001
Joel-Peter Witkin: Photographs from the Stephan Janssen Collection, University of Arizona Art Museum. Tempe, AZ
“Joel-Peter Witkin: In and Out of Life,” Art Concern Gallery. Brussels, Belgium
Joel-Peter Witkin, Fahey/Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
“Joel-Peter Witkin: Desciple and Master,” Hotel Sully. Paris, France
“Joel-Peter Witkin: Unpublished and Unseen,” Athens School of Fine Art. Athens Greece
“Joel-Peter Witkin: Recent Work,” Catherine Edelman Gallery. Chicago, IL
“Joel-Peter Witkin: Unpublished and Unseen,” Centro Portugues de Fotografia. Coimbra, Portugal
“Joel-Peter Witkin: Life and Death,”. Parno, Estonia
Etherton Gallery. Tucson, AZ

1999
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France

1998
“Unpublished and Unseen,” The Museum of Fine Arts. Santa Fe, NM
The Cultural Center of Bruges. Bruges, Belgium
Hamlin Museum. South Korea

1997
Pace/ Wildenstein/ MacGill. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France
Pace/ Wildenstein/ MacGill. Los Angeles, CA
Fahey/ Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Foto Massan. Goteborg, Sweden
Gallerie Objekte. Munich, Germany

1996
David Floria Gallery. Aspen, CO
Megan Fox Gallery. Santa Fe, NM
Fotology Gallery. Milan, Italy
Les Recontres d’Arles. Arles, France
Econdtros de Fotografia. Coimbra, Portugal
Gallery Objekte. Munich, Germany

1995
Stills Gallery. Edinburgh, Scotland
Interkamera. Prague, Czech Republic
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Pace/ MacGIll Gallery. New York, NY
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris France
Castello Di Rivoli, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea. Rivoli, Italy
Picture Photo Space. Osaka, Japan

1994
Galerie de la Tour. Basel, Switzerland
Galerie de la Tour. Amsterdam, Holland
Galerie Mokka. Rayjkavik, Iceland

1993
Musee de Cahors. France
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Catherine Edelman Gallery. Chicago, IL
Fahey/ Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Picture Photo Space. Osaka, Japan
Studio of Yound Artists Association. Budapest, Hungary
Fotograficentrum. Stockholm, Sweden

1991
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Hamilton’s Gallery. London, England
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France
Fahey/ Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Modern Art. Haifa, Israel

1989
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Hamilton’s Gallery. London, England
Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France
Fahey/Klein Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Palais de Tokyo. Paris, France
Dart Gallery. Chicago, IL
Museum fur Fotographie und Zeitkunst. Breman, Germany
Econtros de Fotografia. Coimbra, Portugal
Palau Sollerie. Palma, Spain

1988
Tartt Gallery. Washington, DC
Brent Sikkema Gallery. Boston, MA
Hoppolyte Photographic Galerie. Helsinki, Finland
Rotterdam Biennale. The Netherlands
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia Museum. Madrid, Spain

1987
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY
La Jolla Museum of Art. Brooklyn, NY

1986
Anderes Ufer. Berlin, Germany
University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM
Brooklyn Museum of Art. Brooklyn, NY
Museum of Contemprorary Photography, Colombia College. Chicago, IL

1985
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, “Forty Photographs,” (traveling catalogue). San Francisco, CA
Aspen Museum- Aspen, CO
Gelerie Texbraun, Grand Palais, -FIAC ’85 (catalogue). Paris, France
Institute Franco- American (catalogue). Paris, France
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY
Galerie Watari (catalogue). Tokyo, Japan
Butler Gallery. Houston, TX

1984
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Pace/ MacGill Gallery. New York, NY

1983
Museum voor Acutele Kunste. Hasselt, Belgium
Fraenkel Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Stedelijk Museum (catalogue). Amsterdam, Holland
Kansas City Art Institute. Kansas City, MS

1982
Galerie Texbraun. Paris, France
San Francsico Camerawork. San Francisco, CA

1980
Projects Studio One. New York, NY
Cooper Union School of Fine Art. New York, NY

1976
University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM

1972
Cooper Union School of Fine Art. New York, NY

1969
The Moore Collection of Art. Philadelphia, PA



SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2002
“The Nature of Still Life: From Fox Talbot to the Present Day,” Galleria d’Arte Moderna. Bologna, Italy

2001
“The Image of Jesus Christ in Photography,” The Fotografie Forum: Museum of Modern Art Frankfurt. Germany
“Art Since 1850, an introduction to the Collection,” Akron Art Museum. Akron, Ohio

2000
“2000 ans de Creation d’Apres l’Antique,” Musee du Louvre- Hall Napoleon. Paris, France
“Animal,” Musee Bourdelle. Paris, France
“Droles de Bestioles,” Centre Photographique d’Ile de France, Pontault. Combault
“Le siecle du corps,” Musee de l’Eysee. Sausanne, Switzerland
“Pourquoi faites-vous cette tete la,” Galerie Sabine Puget. Paris, France
“Ecce Homo,” Kunsthal. Rotterdam, Netherlands
“Psycho,” Ann Faggionto Gallery. London
“Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Elton John Collection,” The Hight Museum of Art. Atlanta, GA
“Postmodern Heretics: The Catholic Imagination in Contemporary Art,” Siena Heights University. Michigan

1999
“Rosso Vivo,” Padiglione d’Arte-Conemporanea. Milano, Italy
“The Missing Link,” Kunstmuseum. Bern, Switzerland
“Love and Desire- Between Neoclassicism and Neuroticism,” Photology. Milan, Italy

1998
“Taboo: Repression and Revolt in Modern Art,” Galerie St. Etienne. New York, NY
“Photography’s Multiple Roles,” Museum of Contemporary Photography. Chicago, IL
“50 Years of Polaroid Photography,” Ansel Adams Center. San Francisco, CA
“Corps a’ Vif-Art et Anatomie,” Musee d’Art et Historie. Geneva, Switzerland

1997
“Body Fictions: Reinventing Anatomy,” Auckland Art Gallery. New Zealand
“The Mythic Image,” David Adamson Gallery. Washington, DC
“Rear View,” Sarah Morthland Gallery. New York, NY
“The Quick and the Dead,” Hayward Gallery. London, England
“Transvestism Identity in the Arts,” Koldo Mitelena Kulturunea. San Sebastian, Spain
“Photography and the Classical Nude,” Tampa Art Museum. Tampa, FL
“Contemporary Photography in France,” Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, France

1996
“Neo-Masters,” Greg Kucrea Gallery. Seattle, Washington
La Maison Europienne de la Photographie- 1955-1995. Paris, France
“DOUBLE VUE,” Foundation Cartier. Paris, France

1995
Interkamera Photo Festival. Prague

1994
“Still Pictures/ Still Life,” University of Rhode Island. Providence, RI
“Photo Dessin/ Dessin Photo,” Espace Van Gogh. Arles, France

1993
“Mexico Through Foreign Eyes,” Museo de Art Contemporanea, Rufino Tamayo. Mexico City
“Magicians of Light,” Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada

1992
“Quotations,” Aldrich Museum. Ridgefield, Delaware
“Photography and Sculpture,” Palais de Tokyo. Tokyo, Japan
“Objects O Trouves d’Artiste,” Galerie Urbi. Paris France
“The Crucifixion Through the Modern Eye,” Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary’s College of California. Morgana, CA
1989 “On the Art of Fixing a Shadow, One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography,” National Gallery of Art. Washinton, D.C.
“The Photography of Invention,” National Museum of American Art. Washington, D.C.

1987
“Crosscurrents, Forty Years of Photographic Art,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles, CA
“Master America Photographs 1910 to 1986,” Whitney Equitable. New York, NY

1986
“Sacred Images in Secular Art,” Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, NY
“Signs of the Times: Some Recurring Motifs in Twentieth Century Photography,” San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, CA (catalog)
“The Sacred and the Sacrilegious,” Photographic Recourse Center. Boston, MA
“Art Quest,” Parsons Gallery- Parsons School of Design. New York, NY
The Biennial of Sydney (catalog). Sydney, Australia
“Das Artfoto: The Nude in Photography,” Muchner Stadt Museum. Munich, Germany

1985
“The Sam Wagstaff Collection,” International Center of Photography. New York, NY
“American Images: Photography 1945- 1980,” Barbican Art Gallery. London, England (traveling catalog)
"Whitney Biennial,” Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, NY

1984
Hirshorn Tenth Anniversary Exhibition of World Art. Washington, D.C.
“Biennial,” San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, CA

1983
Houston Center of Photography. Houston, TX
“Personal Choice,” Victoria and Albert Museum. London, England

1982
“Mois de la photo,” Musee d’Art Moderne. Paris, France
“Form, Freud and Feeling,” San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, CA
“Staged Photo Events,” Rotterdam Kunstichting. Holland
“New American Photography,” Galerie Texbraun. Paris, France

1980
“Contemporary Photographers of New Mexico,” Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL

1977
Soho Center of Visual Arts (C.A.P.S.)
“Photoerotica,” San Francisco Camera Work. San Francisco, CA
Light Work Gallery. Syracuse, NY

1972
“Curators Choice,” Witkin Gallery. New York, NY

1970
“World Environments,” Louvre Museum, Les Halles de Balthazar. Paris, France

1969
“Paintings for City Walls,” Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY

1968
“Two Americans,” University of Manchester. England

1959
“Great Photographs from the Museum Collection,” Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY



PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

The Metropolitan Museum of Art- New York, NY
Museum of Fine Arts- Boston, MA
The Museum of Modern Art- New York, NY
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art- San Francisco, CA
The J. Paul Getty Museum- Malibu, CA
The National Gallery of Art- Washington, D.C.
National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
Victoria and Albert Museum- London, England
Centre Georges Pompidou- Paris, France
Bibliotheque Nationale- Paris, France
Stedelijk Museum- Amsterdam, Holland
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia- Madrid Spain
High Museum of Art- Atlanta, GA
Walker Art Center- Minneapolis, MN
Kansas City Art Institute- Kansas City, MO
Princeton Art Museum- Princeton, NJ
George Eastman House- Rochester, NY
Akron Art Museum- Akron, OH
The Museum of Fine Art- Houston, TX
The Kinsey Institute- Bloomington, IN
University of Arizona- Tucson, AZ
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography



SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Fisler, Hubert. “Spiel mit der Asthetik der Schrecklichen,” Munchner Kultur, June, 1997
Messer, William. “A Tale of Two Festivals,” World Art, No. 12, 1997, pp. 80-81
“Ouverture,” Vogue (Deutsch), July 1997, p.22
Hofmann. “Physical Prodigies of All Kinds.” TLS, The Times Literary Supplement, London, England
March 1, 1996, pp. 7-8
Joel-Peter Witkin. “The Story of the Eye,” World Art1/ 1996, pp. 106-10 “Joel-Peter Witkin,” Switch
(Tokyo) 10:4 (November 1992), pp. 15-63
Serrano, Andres. “A Darker Light,” (Interview with Witkin) Blind Spot, Issue Two, 1993
Joel-Peter Witkin, Museum fur Fotographie und Zeitkunst, Bremen, Germany 1989
McKenna, Kristine. “Joel-Peter Witkin: Peering over the Abyss,” Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1989
pp. 8-69
Bonetti, David. “Notes From the Underworld,” The Boston Phoenix, February 5, 1988, p.5
Coutler, Michael. “Joel-Peter Witkin: A Midwestern Visitation,” Dialogue, January, 1988, pp. 16-20
Fontanella, Lee. “from Matters of Fact to Matters of Value.” Photovision # 19, 1988, pp. 53-63
Loren, Gary. “The Photography of Cruelty: Artaud and Witkin.” Michigan Photography Journal, pp.5-7, Issue two, 1988
Mesley, Roger J. “Revisionest Mariology- Sacred of Profane.” (Lecture) Carleton University, Ottowa, April, 1988
Rombout, Melissa K. “Dialogue with the Ineffable.” Views, summer 1988, pp.18-19
Witkin, Joel-Peter. “150 Years of Photography, Pictures that Made a Difference.” Life Magazine,
September, 1988, p. 63
Du Pont, Diana. “A Hidden Order: Spirituality in the Twentieth Century Photography.” San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, August 1987
Gadd, David. “Beautiful Monsters.” San Francisco Sentinel, September 18, 1987, pp.6-8
Dadger, Gerry. “Towards a Moral Pornography.” Creative Camera, September 1986, pp. 33- 36
Kozloff, Max. “The Wizard of ID.” Vogue, April, 1987, p.20
Mullarkey, Maureen. “Joel-Peter Witkin: Brooklyn Museum.” Hudson Review, Spring 1987, pp.106-108
Bloom, John. “Joel-Peter Witkin and L’Armour Fou at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.” Photo Metro, January 1986, pp.35-37
Foerstner, Abigail. “Reflecting on Life with Joel-Peter Witkin at the Abyss.” Chicago Tribune, March, 28, 1986, section 7 pp. 67-70
Murray, Joan. “Overstepping Traditional Bounds.” Artweek, January 25, 1986, p.12
Strauss, David Levi. “An Alchemical Disturbance.” San Francisco Camerawork, Vol. 13, No. 1, Spring 1986 p. 21
Thorton, Gene. “A Gothic Vision of Man Seen with the Camera’s Eye.” The New York Times, Sunday, August 24, 1986, p. 27
Wise, Kelly. “The Unconventional and the Brooding.” The Boston Globe, December 17, 1986, p.7. Coke, Van Deren, Joel-Peter Witkin, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1985 Ewards, Owen. “Joel-Peter Witkin.” American Photographer, November, 1985. pp. 40-53 Fahey, David. “Modern Masters: Joel-Peter Witkin.” Interview Magazine, July 1985, pp.40-53.
Witkin, Joel-Peter. “Today’s American Works.” Photo Japan, February 1985, pp.56-57
Witkin, Joel-Peter. “Divine Revolt.” Aperture, Fall 1985, No. 100, pp. 34-41
Berger, David. “Violent Images.” Journal-America, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
Chester, Mark I. “Joel-Peter Witkin’s Photographs.” Bay Area Reporter, November 8, 1984
Fisher, Hal. “Joel-Peter Witkin: The Dark End of the Spectrum.” Fotography, Doppelhelft 32/33, 1984, pp.30-37
Jan, Alfred. “Religion: 1984.” Images and Issues, July 1984, p. 50
Jordan, Jim. “Chaplin in Hell.” Artweek, Joel-Peter Witkin at Fraenkel, November 10, 1984
Witkin, Joel-Peter. “Witkin by Witkin.” The Manipulator, Issue No. 1 Dusseldorg, West Germany, June 1984
Albright, Thomas. “Perversely Fascinating Nightmares.” San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday, July 30, 1983, p.33
Kozloff, Max. “Contention Between Two Cities About a Disagreeable Beauty.” Artforum, pp.45-53, February 1983
Thornton, Gene. “Life Seen as an Earthly Hell.” The New York Times, April 3, 1983, p.29
White, Patrick E. “Joel-Peter Witkin at Kansas City Art Institute.” New Art Eaminer, Vol.X No.6, 1983
Gadger, Gerry. “Beyond Arbus and Bacon/ The Photographs of Joel-Peter Witkin.” Zein #45, 1983, p.20
Thornton, Gene. “Photography View.” The New York Times, Sunday, August 24, 1980



MONOGRAPHS

Songs of Experience, poems by William Blake, photographs by Joel-Peter Witkin, Journal of Contemporary Photography, South Dennis, MA 2002
The Bone House, Twin Palms Publishers, Santa Fe, NM, 1999
Joel-Peter Witkin: Retrospective, Guggenheim Museum of Catalogue, curated by Germano Celant, Scalo/D.A.P., New York, NY 1995
Harms Way, Twelvetrees Press, Santa Fe, NM, 1994
Joel-Peter Witkin, Twelve Photographs in Gravure, Kevin Begos, publisher, poem by Galway Kinnell, 1994
Baudoin Lebon, Exhibition Catalogue, essay by Guy Cogeval, 1991
Gods of Earth and Heaven, Twelvetrees Press, 1989 first edition, 1992 second edition
Photo Poche, Le Centere National de la Photographie, Paris essay by Eugenia Janis 1991 first edition
Palais de Tokyo, essay by Antonio Saura and Joel-Peter Witkin, 1988
Reina Sofia Museum Catalogue, essay by Antonio Saura and Joel-Peter Witkin, 1988
Photovision, paperback book, essay by Lee Fontanella, edited by Joan Fontcuberta, 1987
San Francisco Museum Catalogue, Joel-Peter Witkin, Forty Photographs, 1985
Joel-Peter Witkin (black book), essay by Joel-Peter Witkin, Twelvetrees Press, 1985
Stedelijk Museum Catalogue, Amsterdam, 1983



EDITED BOOKS

1994
Harm Way, Twelvetrees Press, edited by Joel-Peter Witkin. Santa Fe, NM

1991
Masterpieces of Medical Photography, Twelvetrees Press, edited by Joel-Peter Witkin. Pasadena, CA



SELECTED AWARDS

2000 Decorated Commandeur de L’Order des Arts et des Lettres
1996 The Augustus Saint Gardens Medal, from The Cooper Union School of Art
1992 National Endowment for the Arts, Photography Fellowship
1990 Decorated Chevalier Des Arts et des Letters
1988 International Center of Photography Fourth Annual Award in Visual Arts
1986 National Endowment for the Arts, Photography Fellowship
1986 Maine Photographic Book Competition, Book of the Year (Twelve Trees Press Monograph)
1984 National Endowment for the Arts, Photography Fellowship
1982 National Endowment for the Arts, Photography Fellowship
1978 Ford Foundation Grant
1977 Ford Foundation Grant
1974 CAPS Grant in Photography, New York, NY
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JOEL-PETER WITKIN
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