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BAKER from page 53

taken with the frequency of display and the nature of
storage.
"The collection is all my husband's doing," says
Beverly Baker, who retains many artistic photos for
home display along with paintings and sculpture repre-
senting the couple's wider artistic interests. "He had an
eye for art and based his choices on the excellence of
the work"

Photographer And Collector

Morris Baker, who earned his living in Michigan and
Ontario as a developer, enjoyed taking artistic photos as
much as he enjoyed collecting them. He studied camera
skills in classes at the Center for Creative Studies in
Detroit and workshops given at various art centers.
"The very first photo we bought came from the
Spertus Museum in Chicago," says Mrs. Baker, a mem-
ber of the steering committee of the Janice Charach
Epstein Gallery as well as other Jewish organizations.
"It's a picture of [first Israeli Prime Minister David]
Ben-Gurion at the Western Wall and was done by
Micha Bar-Am. We also have work by Roman
Vishniac, who traveled through Poland and document-
ed Polish Jewry before World War II."
Two pictures in the Baker home took on more per-
sonal drama after the tragedy of Sept. 11. One, shot by
George Tice, shows the Twin Towers. Another, by Ruth
Orkin, shows the New York skyline before the towers
were built.
The Bakers, who studied Hebrew after enrolling their

Above, clodwise from left Max Ernst, the surrealist artist, was photographed:ins an
antique chair that.had been :a: ththterprop. Artist Georges Rouault "was too all to
move around," said NewMan. "I concentrated on him being alone in - the twilight of
his life.' Milton Avery's shoot was supposed to take place along the sand dunes he
painted but, due to his heart attack, the session was brought indoom

Opposite page: An easel and other forms repeat- the geometric shapes that. define Piet
Mondrians signature style and exemplify the way in which Newman uses the built
environment to enhance the understanding of a subject.

the other works on the assembly line.
"That's why I decided to go into homes or studios
and came to be [described] as the father of environ-
mental portraits, although sometimes they're more like
symbolic portraits. The I.M. Pei is more symbolic
than environmental although it's taken in his suite of
offices.
Newman, born in New York, spent his early years in
Atlantic City and then moved with his family to
Florida. He entered the University of Miami to study
painting but changed his focus to photography. After
accepting camera work at a Philadelphia department
store, Newman perfected the technical requirements
of his art.

Independence

A job offer returned Newman to Florida, where he
managed a commercial photo studio. Inspired by
social documentation being commissioned by the
government at that time, he photographed people
and places in the poorer sections of the state, using
the sense of composition he developed as a painting
student.
Newman decided to show his work in New York
and moved there in 1946. Exhibits and professional
contacts led to his early magazine assignments for
Life and Harper's Bazaar. Over the years, he stuck
with a freelance approach because of the independ-
ence that offered.
"You have to have a feeling about people or you'll
never be a good photographer of people," advises

Newman, who researches his subjects before meeting
them and then engages each one in conversation while
thinking through the way he wants his composition.
"I hate the phrase 'portrait photographer' because
it has commercial connotations. I like to photo-
graph people because I love people. I was brought
up in the hotel business where I would have to —
even when I was. young — chat with [guests] staying
at my parents' place.
"I guess I have an instinct for people. If you don't
have that, you're not going to get anywhere in this
field."
Newman, who has taken pictures of many Jewish
luminaries, including David Ben-Gurion, maintains a
strong commitment to Israel shared by his wife of 52
years, the former Augusta Rubinstein. When the cou-
ple met, she was working for Teddy Kollek, who was
to become mayor of Jerusalem. Kollek then was taking
on missions toward establishing the State of Israel.
The Newmans, who have two married sons, are
members of the Stephen Wise Synagogue in New
York and are on the board of the Israel Museum. He
also serves on the board of the American Friends of
the Israel Museum.
"Pictures of Stravinsky and Picasso are among my
best-known works," says Newman, who displays
both images in his apartment. "I'm going to have a
big show in Paris in June, and then it will move
outside Copenhagen. My archives are going to the
George Eastman House [in Rochester, N.Y.] and
the University of Miami." ❑

Morris Baker, an amateur photographer, shot this
Jerusalem storefront which featured a picture of Zionist
leader Theodore Herzl who had visited the store, a
menorah and a samovar.

three sons at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit, made many lengthy visits to Israel, where they
added to their art collection and where he took artistic
photos of special interest to both of them.
One family photo that has been particularly treasured
features a display window in a Jerusalem shop that is no
longer standing. The window, as photographed, show-
cases a picture of Theodore Herzl kept because he visit-
ed there, antique tableware and a samovar. The photo
also shows a reflection of Mr. Baker's image as he does
the camera work.
"I think people should give back to the universities
they attend so I feel wonderful about donating these
photographs," Mrs. Baker says. "It gives special mean-
ing to my life." ❑

People and Places: The Baker Gifi. of 20th
Century Photography runs through Feb. 10 at
the University of Michigan Museum of Art,
525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor. Hours are 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10
a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon-5
Thursdays and Sundays. $5 donation suggest-
ed. (734) 764-0395.

I

1/11
2002

57

