Robert Ketchum

For 45-years, the imagery and books of Robert Ketchum have helped to define contemporary color photography while at the same time addressing critical national environmental issues. His advocate use of photography has inspired successive generations of image-makers to be purposeful with their work on behalf of social and environmental justice and led to the creation of the International League of Conservation Photographers, of which Ketchum is a Founding Fellow.

Having studied with very non-traditional teachers, Ketchum has also continued to push the more experimental aspects of photographic image-making. In 1984, Ketchum entered China through the UCLA-China Exchange Program where he began work with a guild of embroiderers translating his imagery into wall hangings, table screens, and standing, multi-panel floor screens. These are extremely complex textiles that take years in their creation and they are an astonishing fusion of contemporary technology and historic (2,500 years of tradition) craft.

Primarily known for his photographic work, this rare original oil shows another side of Ketchum’s artistic repertoire.