Ivan Massar's Paris - 1949

Ivan Massar is one of America's premier photo journalists. In a career that began during WW II aboard the US Carrier Franklin and continued through the post-war years into the turbulent '60s and beyond, Massar built a distinguished image portfolio that reflected the many faces and moods of American and European life. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and is part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian Institute.

During the month of October, the Lane Memorial Library will feature 18 of Massar’s Paris images in our newly re-designed Lane Room Art Gallery. These are darkroom prints created by the photographer from medium-format negatives originally shot in the late 1940s. As Ivan recalls:

“I spent two years in Paris. Every day I left my house, usually early, with a camera around my neck, and just wandered, looking for what people do, all the different scenes – I never went out without the camera, it was always with me. That's what I was there for. I was determined to be a photojournalist. I'd been photographing war, and I hadn't done anything else, and this was my aim, to be a photojournalist. So around Paris I just wandered and looked for human interest, and lovers and children, and my eyes were open all the time, for any little juxtaposition of things that would make an interesting picture.”

For those interested in hearing more about Ivan’s life and work, he will be the featured speaker at a reception in the Lane Gallery on Wednesday, October 12th at 7:00 PM. A collection of Massar’s images can be seen at www.ivanmassar.com.