The Famous Photographers School is long gone. (So is the business that bought its Wilton Road headquarters: Save the Children.)
But — more than 40 years after it closed — some of its most famous photographs live on.
Yale University Art Gallery has bought Famous Photographers’ entire archive. Images, course books, advertisements — all are now housed in New Haven. A small exhibit from the archive is on display now.
After Famous Photographers School — and its cousins, Famous Artists and Famous Writers Schools — closed in 1974, thousands of artifacts gathered dust. Jeffrey Price — a Norwalk business owner — found the Famous Photographers archive, and restored it.
Among the most famous Famous Photographers faculty: Richard Avedon, Joseph Costa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Phillippe Halsman, Irving Penn, Ezra Stoller, and Bert Stern.
This iconic photo of Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca was taken by Famous Artists School founder Victor Keppler. The renowned photographer lived in Westport until his death in 1987 at 83. This image is now part of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection.
(Hat tip: Wally Meyer)