uous line of thinking, a guidebook to a life, a ‘guide-
book’ that has influenced the thinking of a genera-
tion of photographers.’’
MarisaC. Sa ́nchezSeealso:Afterimage; Professional Organizations
Biography
Born in Jamaica, New York, 10 January 1930. Attended
Haaren High School, New York, 1943–1947; studied
architectural drafting, Manhattan Technical Institute,
New York, 1948–1950; majored in Business Administra-
tion at Alfred University, New York, 1948–1950;
enlisted in the United States Air Force, 1950; served in
Photo Intelligence Unit, 1951–1953, and as staff news
writer and public relations photographer. Majored in
English literature, Alfred University, New York, 1954–
1957, B.A.. Amateur photographer, New York, 1946–
1950; freelance photographer, New York, 1954–1957.
Director of Information, George Eastman House,
Rochester, New York, 1957–1958; Assistant Editor
Imagemagazine, 1957; Editor of publications/Associate
Editor ofImage, 1958–1959; Appointed Assistant Direc-
tor, George Eastman House, 1960–1963; Regional Edi-
tor ofAperture, 1960–1966; Associate Director and
Curator of Photography, George Eastman House,
1965–1969; Founder-Member and Chairman, Society
for Photographic Education, 1963–1965; Founder and
Director of the Photographic Studies Workshop (now
Visual Studies Workshop), Rochester, New York, 1969;
Director of the Photographic Studies Program, State
University of New York, Buffalo, 1969–1980; Founder
and EditorAfterimagemagazine, 1972–1977; Initiated
Oracle, 1983; Founding member of Photo Archives
Belong, Rochester, New York, 1984; Received National
Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 1974; NEA Senior
Fellowship, 1985; Friends of Photography Peer Award
in Creative Photography (for distinguished career in
photography) 1989. Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts
by the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, 1995.
Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement from Interna-
tional Center for Photography, 2000.
Individual Exhibitions
1958 Seven Days a Week; George Eastman House, Roche-
ster, New York
1960 Nathan Lyons; Rochester Institute of Technology,
Rochester, New York
1965 Nathan Lyons: Photographs; University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
1971 Notations in Passing; University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado
1972 Recent Photographs by Nathan Lyons; Columbia Col-
lege, Chicago, Illinois
1974 Nathan Lyons; Light Gallery, New York, New York
1974 Notations in Passing; Spectrum Gallery, Light Impres-
sions, Rochester, New York
1977 Nathan Lyons: 100 Photographs from Notations in
Passing; University of Maryland, Baltimore County,
Maryland
1982 Verbal Landscape(with Bart Parker); Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston, Texas
1983 Nathan Lyons and the Visual Studies Workshop;
SICOF 10th International Exhibition, Milan, Italy
1986 Riding First Class on the Titanic: A Work in Progress;
Catskill Center for Photography, Woodstock, New York
2000 Notations: A Retrospective Exhibition; Howard Green-
berg Gallery, New York, New York
2000 Riding First Class on the Titanic!, Addison Museum of
Art, Andover, Massachusetts, and traveled to Interna-
tional Center of Photography, New York, New York;
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; Univer-
sity of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; Houston Center
for Photography, Houston, Texas
2003 After 9/11; Acta International, Rome, Italy; Foto Sep-
tiembre, Mexico City, Mexico; Light Works, Syracuse,
New YorkGroup Exhibitions
1959 Photography at Mid-Century; George Eastman House,
Rochester, New York
1960 The Sense of Abstraction in Contemporary Photogra-
phy; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
1960 New Talent in the USA, 1960; The American Federa-
tion of Arts, New York, New York
1961 Fourteen Photographers from the Carl Siembab Gal-
lery; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
1963 Photography in the Fine Arts IV; Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, New York
1964 The Photographer’s Eye; Museum of Modern Art,
New York, New York
1965 Nathan Lyons—Joan Lyons; Alfred University, Alfred,
New York
1966 American Photography: The Sixties; Sheldon Memorial
Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
1967 Photography in the Twentieth Century; National Gal-
lery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
1968 Photography and the City: The Evolution of an Art and
a Science; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
1969 Nathan Lyons, Danny Lyon; The University of Con-
necticut, Storrs, Connecticut
1969 The Photograph as Object; National Gallery of
Canada, Ottawa, Canada, and traveling
1970 Being Without Clothes; Creative Photo Gallery, MIT,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1974 Photography in America; Whitney Museum of Amer-
ican Art, New York, New York
1977 The Great West: Real/Ideal; University of Colorado,
Boulder, Colorado, and traveling
1978 Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since
1960 ; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York,
and traveling
1985 American Images; Barbican Art Gallery, London,
England, and traveling
1985 City Light; International Center of Photography, New
York, New York
1986 American Images: Photography 1945–1980; Manches-
ter City Art Gallery, Manchester, England
1987 Photography and Art: Interactions Since 1946; Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
1990 Some Photo Teachers from the Rochester Area: Chiarenza,
Cooper, Gussow, Hook, Lyons, Lyons, McCarney, Mertin,
Smith, Wyman, RIT Photo Gallery, Rochester, New YorkLYONS, NATHAN