San Francisco images legend Robert Altman lifeless at 77
Robert Altman, the legendary San Francisco photojournalist who focused on the city’s counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, died on September 24th.
He died at the age of 77, a month before his birthday, from a longstanding battle with esophageal cancer, his press agent Lee Housekeeper said in a press release.
The photographer “is survived by his work,” says the publication, profound evidence of his far-reaching influence and talent in all genres.
Born in New York City, Altman was trained by Ansel Adams before moving to San Francisco in 1968, where he quickly became a fixture on the city’s counterculture scene, making friends and sometimes taking photos with artists, musicians, and hippies.
The Rolling Stones Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman and Keith Richards perform on stage during the Day on the Green # 4 concert on July 26, 1978 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.
Robert Altman / Getty Images
He shot for the city’s underground newspaper Good Times before becoming Rolling Stone’s chief photographer, capturing some of history’s greatest talent, including Keith Richards and David Crosby.
“They gave me the front page and the full back and an inside page. I was up all night waiting for the paper to come out,” Altman told rock journalist Ben Fong-Torres of his time for Good Times, who introduced the The Sixties: Photographs, a book Altman published in 2007.
In a statement, Rolling Stone founder Jan Werner (and Altman’s former boss) said that Altman “was instrumental in portraying the look, feel and vitality of the 1960s.”
Revelers attend the Holy Man Jam in Boulder, Colorado, in August 1970. It was known as the first rave.
Robert Altman / Getty Images
Frankie Ann, a director working on a documentary about Altman, called him “a wonderful and lovable person and friend” in a statement. She said his “exquisitely sincere recordings capture the historic moments that shape the 1960s”.
In his often very raw and naturalistic work, Altman has captured over 30,000 images ranging from hippie protests to Rolling Stones recording sessions. He later turned his lens to fashion.
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The San Francisco Mime Troupe poses for a portrait in October 1974 in San Francisco, California.
Robert Altman / Getty Images
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Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell poses for a portrait during the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, September 13-14, 1969 at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
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Peter Pizzitola plays a guitar while a lady reads a book when they visit from San Francisco and live in a community in Tecate, New Mexico in about July 1969.
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Altman’s work is now in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley as part of the Robert Altman Photograph Archive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
