Richard Misrach

Richard Misrach was born in Los Angeles in 1949 and received a BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He helped popularize large format color photography in the 1970s and 80s and is best known for Desert Cantos, his ongoing study of the American desert and man’s relation to it. The project presents a variety of images, from traditional landscapes to the space shuttle landing, which Misrach considers a singular work, with each canto acting as the equivalent of a (book) chapter heading. Misrach also works in a social documentary style, which can be seen in his Louisiana photographs of Cancer Alley, the corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, he also has taken pictures of the desert sky; the Golden Gate Bridge; the beaches, water, and jungles of Hawaii; Stonehenge; and the Pyramids.
Misrach’s photographs are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Museum of Modern Art; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.
Mary O'Donnell Hulme
References:
Misrach, Richard. Bravo 20: The Bombing of the American West. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
Misrach, Richard. Chronologies. San Francisco: Fraenkel Gallery, 2005.
Misrach, Richard. Desert Cantos. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1987.
Misrach, Richard. Destroy This Memory. New York: Aperture, 2010.
Misrach, Richard. Golden Gate. New York: Aperture, 2005.
Misrach, Richard. . New York: Aperure, 2007.
Misrach, Richard. Pictures of Paintings. New York: PowerHouse Books, 2002.
Misrach, Richard. The Sky Book. Santa Fe: Arena Editions, 2000.
Misrach, Richard. Violent Legacies: Three Cantos. New York: Aperture, 1992.
Crimes and Splendors: The Desert Cantos of Richard Misrach. Boston: Bulfinch Press/Little Brwon and Co., 1996.