Philip Gefter
| Philip Gefter | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Pratt Institute |
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Subject | arts |
| Spouse | Richard Press |
Philip Gefter is an American author and photography critic. He wrote the biography of Sam Wagstaff, Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe, for which he received the 2014 Marfield Prize, the national award for arts writing. He is also the author of George Dureau: The Photographs, and Photography After Frank, a book of essays published by Aperture in 2009. He was on staff at The New York Times for over fifteen years where, as Senior Picture Editor for Culture and, then, the Page One Picture Editor, he wrote regularly about photography. He continues to write in The New York Times, and his essays have appeared, as well, in The New Yorker, Aperture, The Daily Beast, Slate, Art and Auction, The Getty Research Journal, and other publications.
Gefter received a fine arts degree from the Pratt Institute in painting and photography. Upon graduation, he took a job as a picture researcher in the Time-Life Picture Collection, which gave him first-hand exposure to the photographs of Walker Evans, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Capa, W. Eugene Smith, and Alfred Eisenstaedt, among a roster of other photographers who had set a standard for photojournalism in the twentieth century. Following that, he took a job at Aperture Foundation, where, as assistant editor, he worked on the Aperture History of Photography series and on publications such as Edward Weston: Nudes; America and Lewis Hine; and the re-publication of Robert Frank’s The Americans.
In 1982, Henry Geldzahler, then commissioner of cultural affairs for the city of New York, appointed him photography advisor to the Department of Cultural Affairs, where he put together a program of public exhibitions.
In 2011, he and Richard Press (who were married in 2008) released their feature-length documentary entitled Bill Cunningham New York, about The New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. The film received nominations for Best Documentary from The Directors' Guild of America; the Producers' Guild of America; and The Independent Spirit Awards. In 2013, it was acquired by the Film Department of The Museum of Modern Art for its permanent collection.
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