Douglas Gilbert | American, 1942 -
Upon receiving his BA from Michigan State University in 1964, Douglas R. Gilbert moved to New York City and became a staff photographer for Look magazine. After three years with the publication, Gilbert went to Chicago and pursued graduate studies at the Institute of Design, receiving his MS in 1972. He was a professor at Wheaton College between 1972 and 1982 and has since worked as a photographer and psychotherapist in New England. Gilbert has consistently worked in the classic black-and-white format, shooting people, places, and objects with a sensitive and intimate attention.
Douglas Gilbert's work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, as well as in many private and institutional collections. Forever Young, a group of photographs from an unpublished Lookstory is his fourth book. He lives with his wife in Grand Haven, Michigan.
“The unique aspect of photography that sets it apart from other visual art media (save cinema) is that the camera produces a literal image for the subject. For me as artist it is also the crucial and ongoing challenge to make unaltered photographs that are intelligent and compelling. A photograph is full of facts, but is also capable of containing great mystery. This is what I strive to embody in all my work. To go beyond the surface—the appearance of the subject—and suggest that there is more to be known, is for me, most important. I find the natural world endlessly fascinating, inexhaustibly rich with suggestion and mystery.”
Education
1993 M.S.W. Salem State College. Massachusetts
1972 M. S. Photography. Institute of Design. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
1964 B.A. Social Sciences and Art. Michigan State University. East Lansing
Professional Experience
1960-present Photographer
1972-1982 Ass't Prof. Of Art. Wheaton College. Illinois
1967-1972 Freelance photographer. New York City and Chicago
1964-1967 Staff photographer. LOOK Magazine. New York City
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2014 C2C Gallery, Grand Haven, MI. Selected Images from "Italian Light"
2014 South Haven Center for the Arts, South Haven, MI. "Bob Dylan: Forever Young"
2014 Covent of the Servite Order, Orvieto, Italy. "Light from Light"
2012 Adams Gallery, Wheaton College (IL) "Italian Light"
2010 Holland Museum & Achives. Holland, MI "Bob Dylan: Forever Young"
2010 Sao Paolo Gallery, Gordon College. Orvieto, Italy. "Italian Light"
2006 Farmani Gallery, Los Angeles. "Street Shots: New York's Financial District in 1965"
2005 Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston. "Bob Dylan: Unscripted"
2005 The Perfect Exposure Gallery, Los Angeles. "Bob Dylan: Unscripted"
2003-2004 The Lobby for the Arts Gallery. Amesbury, MA. "Selections from the Italy Collection"
2003 The Gallery at Barrington Center for the Arts. Gordon College. Wenham, MA. "Selections from the Italy and Dangerous Beauty Collections"
2001 Istituto San Lodovico. Orvieto, Italy. "A Dangerous Beauty". Black and white photographs of New England gardens
2000 The Home Gallery. Downriver Council for the Arts. Taylor, MI."Orvieto, Umbria, Italy"
1999 Istituto San Lodovico. Orvieto, Italy. "Orvieto and Vicinity"
1987 Auginbaugh Gallery. Messiah College. Pennsylvania. New England domestic architecture
1984 Maritime Museum. Newburyport, MA. 19th Century New England Domestic Architecture
1983 Wisteriahurst Museum. Holyoke, MA. Early 20th Century Memorial Chapel Architecture
1981 The Gilbert Gallery. Chicago. "The American Wilderness"
1978 The Art Institute of Chicago. "Spaces and Intersections"
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014 The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA. "Face It: The Photographic Portrait"
2007 Sande Webster Gallery. Philadelphia. "Documentary Photography"
2006-2007 The Norton Simon Museum. Pasadena, CA. "The Collectable Moment"
2006-2007 Farmani Gallery. Los Angeles. Holiday Group Show
2005 Sony Ericsson Proud Galleries. London, U.K. "The Official Bob Dylan Exhibition"
2000 The Stage Gallery. Merrick, New York
1987 The Art Institute of Chicago
1981 The Australian Centre for Photography. Sydney
1980 The Gilbert Gallery. Chicago
1980 Bertha Urdang Gallery. New York City. "Black and White Photographs"
1979 The Atlanta Gallery of Photography. Georgia
1978 The University of Maryland Art Gallery. College Park, MD
1975 N.A.M.E. Gallery. Chicago
1974 The Art Institute of Chicago
1970 The Corcoran Gallery of Art. Wash., D.C
Collections
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Norton Simon Museum. Pasadena, CA
Continental Bank. Chicago
The High Museum of Art. Atlanta, GA
American Art Collection. Wheaton College. Illinois
Auginbaugh Gallery Collection. Messiah College. Pennsylvania
The Downriver Council for the Arts. Taylor, MI
Numerous private collections
Books
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan. With Dave Marsh. DaCapo Press: New York: 2005 Paperback edition: 2006
C. S. Lewis: Images of His World. With Clyde Kilby. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids: 1973 Revised edition published 2005
Flannery O'Connor: Images of Grace. With Harold Fickett. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids: 1985
Upon receiving his BA from Michigan State University in 1964, Douglas R. Gilbert moved to New York City and became a staff photographer for Look magazine. After three years with the publication, Gilbert went to Chicago and pursued graduate studies at the Institute of Design, receiving his MS in 1972. He was a professor at Wheaton College between 1972 and 1982 and has since worked as a photographer and psychotherapist in New England. Gilbert has consistently worked in the classic black-and-white format, shooting people, places, and objects with a sensitive and intimate attention.
Douglas Gilbert's work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, as well as in many private and institutional collections. Forever Young, a group of photographs from an unpublished Lookstory is his fourth book. He lives with his wife in Grand Haven, Michigan.
“The unique aspect of photography that sets it apart from other visual art media (save cinema) is that the camera produces a literal image for the subject. For me as artist it is also the crucial and ongoing challenge to make unaltered photographs that are intelligent and compelling. A photograph is full of facts, but is also capable of containing great mystery. This is what I strive to embody in all my work. To go beyond the surface—the appearance of the subject—and suggest that there is more to be known, is for me, most important. I find the natural world endlessly fascinating, inexhaustibly rich with suggestion and mystery.”
Education
1993 M.S.W. Salem State College. Massachusetts
1972 M. S. Photography. Institute of Design. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
1964 B.A. Social Sciences and Art. Michigan State University. East Lansing
Professional Experience
1960-present Photographer
1972-1982 Ass't Prof. Of Art. Wheaton College. Illinois
1967-1972 Freelance photographer. New York City and Chicago
1964-1967 Staff photographer. LOOK Magazine. New York City
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2014 C2C Gallery, Grand Haven, MI. Selected Images from "Italian Light"
2014 South Haven Center for the Arts, South Haven, MI. "Bob Dylan: Forever Young"
2014 Covent of the Servite Order, Orvieto, Italy. "Light from Light"
2012 Adams Gallery, Wheaton College (IL) "Italian Light"
2010 Holland Museum & Achives. Holland, MI "Bob Dylan: Forever Young"
2010 Sao Paolo Gallery, Gordon College. Orvieto, Italy. "Italian Light"
2006 Farmani Gallery, Los Angeles. "Street Shots: New York's Financial District in 1965"
2005 Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston. "Bob Dylan: Unscripted"
2005 The Perfect Exposure Gallery, Los Angeles. "Bob Dylan: Unscripted"
2003-2004 The Lobby for the Arts Gallery. Amesbury, MA. "Selections from the Italy Collection"
2003 The Gallery at Barrington Center for the Arts. Gordon College. Wenham, MA. "Selections from the Italy and Dangerous Beauty Collections"
2001 Istituto San Lodovico. Orvieto, Italy. "A Dangerous Beauty". Black and white photographs of New England gardens
2000 The Home Gallery. Downriver Council for the Arts. Taylor, MI."Orvieto, Umbria, Italy"
1999 Istituto San Lodovico. Orvieto, Italy. "Orvieto and Vicinity"
1987 Auginbaugh Gallery. Messiah College. Pennsylvania. New England domestic architecture
1984 Maritime Museum. Newburyport, MA. 19th Century New England Domestic Architecture
1983 Wisteriahurst Museum. Holyoke, MA. Early 20th Century Memorial Chapel Architecture
1981 The Gilbert Gallery. Chicago. "The American Wilderness"
1978 The Art Institute of Chicago. "Spaces and Intersections"
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014 The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA. "Face It: The Photographic Portrait"
2007 Sande Webster Gallery. Philadelphia. "Documentary Photography"
2006-2007 The Norton Simon Museum. Pasadena, CA. "The Collectable Moment"
2006-2007 Farmani Gallery. Los Angeles. Holiday Group Show
2005 Sony Ericsson Proud Galleries. London, U.K. "The Official Bob Dylan Exhibition"
2000 The Stage Gallery. Merrick, New York
1987 The Art Institute of Chicago
1981 The Australian Centre for Photography. Sydney
1980 The Gilbert Gallery. Chicago
1980 Bertha Urdang Gallery. New York City. "Black and White Photographs"
1979 The Atlanta Gallery of Photography. Georgia
1978 The University of Maryland Art Gallery. College Park, MD
1975 N.A.M.E. Gallery. Chicago
1974 The Art Institute of Chicago
1970 The Corcoran Gallery of Art. Wash., D.C
Collections
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Norton Simon Museum. Pasadena, CA
Continental Bank. Chicago
The High Museum of Art. Atlanta, GA
American Art Collection. Wheaton College. Illinois
Auginbaugh Gallery Collection. Messiah College. Pennsylvania
The Downriver Council for the Arts. Taylor, MI
Numerous private collections
Books
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan. With Dave Marsh. DaCapo Press: New York: 2005 Paperback edition: 2006
C. S. Lewis: Images of His World. With Clyde Kilby. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids: 1973 Revised edition published 2005
Flannery O'Connor: Images of Grace. With Harold Fickett. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids: 1985