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[Identification of item], Ronald Reis Photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Ronald Reis Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2010.
Processed by Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, June 2012.
Encoded by Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, July 2012.
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2010-0231.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Ronald Reis began taking photographs as a child with an Argus A2. He shot sports photography in junior high school with an Argus C-3 and an Ansco Reflex. He continued photographing sports, acquiring cameras, and developing his darkroom skills throughout high school. When he moved to Philadelphia in 1953 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Reis turned his 35mm Leica from the sports fields to the streets.
Influenced by the work of Helen Levitt, Louis Stettner, and Cartier-Bresson, Reis became a passionate street photographer, honing his ability to compose and capture photographs on the fly. This decisive quality is reflected in his contacts sheets filled with single exposures. Reis primarily photographed in New York, Connecticut and Europe during the 1960s. The collection captures the look and feel of the 1960s, especially in the cities of New York City and London.
Reis' photographic work has been exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum, Dartmouth College, the A.T. Gallery in New Haven Connectictut, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the E. Leitz Gallery in New York, and the Image Gallery in New York. In addition, several of his prints were exhibited, as the only amateur photographer, in a Christmas show at the Witkin Gallery in New York City as well as in a one-man show at Parents Magazine Gallery in New York City. His work has been published in
Ronald Reis continues to photograph on the street using digital cameras and now prints in color as well as black and white.
The Ronald Reis Photographs collection contains 289 photographs and contact sheets of black and white images taken during the 1960s and 1970s, primarily in Connecticut, London, and New York City, with a smaller number from Athens, Barcelona, Como, Dublin, Florence, Jerusalem, London, Rome, and Venice. An avid amateur street photographer influenced by Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt, and Louis Stettner, Reis focused his camera on street scenes in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East during the 1960s. The images capture the anti-war demonstrations of the time while also documenting the quotidian life of urban neighborhoods, street markets, and Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park. The black and white gelatin silver prints range in size from 8x10 contact sheets to 11x14 finished prints. Other materials include manuscript and printed materials such as an early cv, some correspondence, exhibition fliers, and articles or photo essays.
Favorite locations chosen by Reis and portrayed in a multiplicity of scenes include London's Hyde Park Speakers' Corner, Portobello flea market, and Trafalgar Square; New York's Bryant Park, Greenwich Village, and Washington Square; and market scenes in Connecticut and Jerusalem. Other images portray anti-Vietnam War protests in Bryant Park, parades, amusement parks, and other street scenes.
Prints and contact sheets are organized by chronological date (year and month) of the shoot, with a few exceptions where only the decade is known. Contact sheets are followed by the selected prints from the same roll.
Each contact sheet has an identifier derived by the photographer from the roll id, which in most cases notes the month and year plus a letter code (e.g., 6/1962G or 07-1962F). Each print also is identified by the roll id followed by a numeral (6/1962G-01). A few rolls are identified by decade only.
Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
Folders house 289 prints and contact sheets. Each contact sheet has an identifier derived by the photographer from the roll id, which notes the month and year plus a letter code (e.g., 6/1962G or 07-1962F). Each print also is identified by the roll id followed by a numeral (6/1962G-01). Print sizes vary from 6 3/8 x 9.5 inches up to 11 x 14 inches. All contact sheets are 8x10 inches. Id ranges on each folder represent the prints and contact sheets housed within.
Contains a short biographical narrative, curriculum vitae, correspondence from publishers, reviews, publications featuring Reis' photographic work, and publicity relating to Reis' exhibitions and lectures. Folders arranged alphabetically by title.