*1917
Loomis
Dean
*1917
Loomis
Dean, born September 19, 1917 in Monticello Florida, was the son of an artist at
the Ringling Museum. In his college years, he studied art at the Ringling Art
School, where, as he says, "I proved I could not draw." However it did
give him a good foundation in art, particularly in regard to composition and
color. Dean then entered University of Florida to study engineering in his
brother's footsteps. Although that did not work out, he did meet a student there
who was developing photographs in the bathroom. As Dean says, "I saw that
first image come up out of that developer and I was hooked." That led him
to enroll at the Mechanics Institute in Rochester, NY. There he absorbed a full
gamut of photography from a brilliant staff.
Dean's first job in 1938 was advance man and photographer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was a fun and relatively short career with the circus, but one that left a lasting impression. As Dean says, "Circus people are drenched in their own adrenaline." It is a nomadic existence - fun and exciting, a show to dazzle all ages. Dean's photographs contain many of the same qualities; most seem to be taken with a twinkle in his eye. At war's end, Dean began to freelance and received assignments from LIFE. On his second LIFE story, characteristically about the circus, Dean made his first LIFE cover. He joined the staff in 1947 and worked out of the Los Angeles bureau for ten years before he was transferred to Paris in 1956. There he stayed for twenty-five years covering Europe and North Africa. One of his more memorable series of photographs was on the Ile de France, approaching the sinking Andrea Doria during that tragic event. In 1965, Dean won the Papal Prize in Rome, Italy. A message came from the Pope, quite unexpectedly, and Dean donned a dark suit and left immediately. Out of 400 contestants, Dean had won first prize in the Vatican's Ecumenical Council Photographic Exhibition. The winning color photograph showed white-robed bishops bearing the Pope's tiara marching in solemn procession through St. Peter's Square. It appeared in LIFE on November 2, 1962.
© by Galerie Stephen Hoffman