LAMAMIMET

Duane Michals was born on February 18, 1932, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and developed an early interest in art while taking watercolor classes at the Carnegie Institute. After earning a B.A. from the University of Denver in 1953 and serving two years in the Army, he briefly attended the Parsons School of Design before turning to photography, a skill he described as self‑taught. A 1958 trip to the Soviet Union sparked his passion for the medium, leading to his first exhibition in New York in 1963.

Throughout his career, Michals worked as a commercial photographer for publications such as Esquire, Mademoiselle, and Vogue, and he documented the filming of "The Great Gatsby" in 1974. He gained recognition for pioneering narrative photo sequences and for integrating handwritten text alongside images, techniques showcased in his 1970 book "Sequences." His work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970, and he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1976. Michals also contributed artwork for album covers, including The Police’s "Synchronicity" in 1983.

Michals’ photographs often addressed personal and philosophical themes, including gay identity, and he influenced later artists such as David Levinthal and Francesca Woodman. He lived in New York City with his partner Frederick Gorrée until Gorrée’s death in 2017. Duane Michals died on June 10, 2026, at the age of 94, leaving a legacy of innovative storytelling in photography.