Nathan Lyons

Nathan Lyons (January 10, 1930 – August 31, 2016) was an American photographer, curator, and educator. He exhibited his photographs from 1956 onwards, produced books of his own and edited those of others.

Lyons was also a curator of photography and an associate director at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York and, in 1969, founded the independent Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, which established a course of study relating to the history and practice of the photographic art form and curatorial studies specifically pertaining to the medium of photography. He started the Society for Photographic Education, becoming its first chairman. He was involved with various magazines, being assistant editor of Image, regional editor of Aperture, and founder of Afterimage.

In 2000 Lyons received the International Center of Photography's Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement in photography. He died on 31 August 2016, aged 86.

In 1945 Lyons became interested in photography after viewing a darkroom demonstration and he began to photograph with a plastic Falcon camera while working in his family's glass and mirror business. In 1947 he received a camera as a graduation gift and between 1947-48 he photographed around Times Square, New York and assisted various photographers. From 1948-50 Lyons enrolled at New York State Agricultural and Technical Institute, East Farmingdale, New York where he studied business and marketing. In 1950 he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a photographer and reported to Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester, New Hampshire. Between 1951-53 he served as senior photographer in a photo intelligence unit in Kimpo, Korea.

In 1953 Lyons returned to the United States and worked for the Air Force as a staff news writer and public relations photographer in Marietta, Georgia. In 1954 following honorable discharge from the Air Force he returned to Alfred University where he majored in English literature and minored in theatre. He also studied photography and exhibition design with the artist John Wood who became his primary mentor and an influential force behind Lyons's creative practice.

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