Iconic Counterculture Photographer Robert Altman Dies at 76 – CBS San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Robert Altman, a legendary photojournalist who helped document the counterculture of San Francisco while working for Rolling Stone Magazine, has died at the age of 76.
A press release released Tuesday confirmed that Altman died at his San Francisco home on or about September 24, a month before his 77th birthday. The cause of death was attributed to complications in his long battle with esophageal cancer, according to the statement.
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Robert Altman (Getty Images)
Altman’s photographs of San Francisco’s counterculture and burgeoning rock ‘n roll scene in the 1960s and 1970s made him one of the leading photojournalists to work for Rolling Stone magazine during the founding years of the publication. He later focused on the fashion world.
Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Altman attended Hunter College and eventually studied photography with Ansel Adams before moving to San Francisco. He became an integral part of the city’s art scene. Originally published in the Good Times underground newspaper, Altman later followed fellow photographer Baron Wollman as Chief Staff Photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine.
He photographed some of the iconic artists of the era and photographed epochal events like the Big Sur Folk Festival and the unfortunate Rolling Stones concert in Altamont in 1969. He photographed the Stones while working in the recording studio on their album “Let It Bleed” and caught Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Iggy Pop, Janis Joplin, the Doors and many others live on stage.
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“Robert Altman was instrumental in portraying the look, feel and vitality of the 1960s,” said Jann Wenner, founder, editor and editor of Rolling Stone. Altman held that position with Rolling Stone from 1970 to 1973, though he would contribute to the magazine in later years.
“Robert Altman left us with some indelible images of a time and place that will sound like the enduring American archetype, The San Francisco Hippie,” said Bay Area music critic and writer Joel Selvin.
Altman’s photos were used in the 2000 film, Almost Famous, directed by Cameron Crowe, which covered the walls of the staged version of Rolling Stone Magazine’s office. Legendary Rolling Stone author and Bay Area journalist Ben Fong-Torres penned the foreword to Altman’s 2007 photo book, The Sixties, which featured many of the timeless images he captured for the magazine.
Altman also ran his own commercial studio in San Francisco for several decades, specializing in fashion photography and becoming an early adopter of digital photography. He has also taught at the Center For Electronic Art, UC Berkeley Extension, and the Multimedia Center at San Francisco State University.
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UC Berkeley acquired Altman’s work to create the Robert Altman Photograph Archive, currently housed in the Bancroft Library.
