theFeste di Foglieseries (1985) and hisDoor County,
Wisconsinphotographs that make up theDoor Suite
(1988) are examples of this rich, formal investigation
of landscapes. This extended meditation on the nat-
ural world continues to the present and also includes
hisEarthly Delights(1987–1988) Bernheim, (1989)
Nature’s Realm, (1990–1994),MoabI(1994–1996)
andMoab II(1997–1998) series. While these land-
scape works seem to be straight photography, Metz-
ker often achieves their remarkable compositional
balance and tonality in the darkroom through care-
ful cropping, dodging, and burning. The results are
often high-contrast images with ‘‘luminescent’’ foli-
age, or lush, ‘‘painterly’’ passages evocative of
Impressionism. These unabashedly gorgeous images
of trees, grasses, rocks, water, and sky call to mind
the spirituality, beauty, and sense of the sublime
advocated by the Romantics and Transcendentalists.
WilliamV. GanisSeealso:Bauhaus; Callahan, Harry; Institute of
Design; Multiple Exposures and Printing; Siskind,
Aaron
Biography
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1931. The artist lives and
works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Moab, Utah and
other locations. B.A., Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin,
1953; active service, United States Army, Korea, 1954–
1956; M.S. Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Tech-
nology, Chicago, Illinois, 1958. Moved to Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, 1962. Professor of Photography, Philadel-
phia College of Art (now Philadelphia University of the
Arts), 1962–1980; Professor, University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, 1970–1972; Professor, Columbia College,
Chicago, 1980–1983; Distinguished Professor, George
Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1987–1988.
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow-
ship, 1966, 1979; National Endowment for the Arts
Grant 1974, 1988; La Napoule Foundation Residency,
1989; Bernheim Arts Fellowship, 1989; Mayor’s Art and
Culture Award, Philadelphia, 1991.
Individual Exhibitions
1959 My Camera and I in the Loop; Art Institute of Chi-
cago; Chicago, Illinois
1967 Ray K. Metzker; Museum of Modern Art; New York,
New York
1974 New Mexico; Dayton College of Art; Dayton, Ohio
and The Print Club of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania
1978 Ray K. Metzker: Multiple Concerns; International
Center for Photography; New York, New York
1979 Pictus Interruptus; Light Gallery; New York, New
York
1985 Unknown Territory: Ray K. Metzker Photographs
1956–83; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, Cali-
fornia; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylva-
nia; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Inter-
national Museum of Photography and Film, The George
Eastman House, Rochester, New York; National
Museum of American Art, Washington DC
1991 A New Leaf: Photographs by Ray Metzker; Art Insti-
tute of Chicago; Chicago, Illinois
1997 Ray K. Metzker: When Darkness Reigns; Laurence
Miller Gallery; New York, New York
2000 Voyage of Discovery: The Landscape Photographs of
Ray. K. Metzker; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland
Ohio; and Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.Group Exhibitions
1958 Photographs from the Museum Collection; Museum of
Modern Art; New York, New York
1963 Photography 63/An International Exhibition; The New
York State Exposition; Syracuse, New York and George
Eastman House; Rochester, New York
1968 Photography and the City; Smithsonian Institution;
Washington, D.C.
1970 Bennett, Steichen, Metzker: The Wisconsin Heritage in
Photography; Milwaukee Art Center; Milwaukee, Wis-
consin
1976 Philadelphia, Three Centuries of American Art; Phila-
delphia Museum of Art; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1978 Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since
1960 ; Museum of Modern Art; New York, New York
and traveling
1981 Erweiterte Fotografie/Extended Photography; Associa-
tion of Visual Artists, Vienna Secession; Vienna, Austria
1983 Harry Callahan and His Students: A Study in Influence;
Georgia State University Art Gallery; Atlanta, Georgia
1989 On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty
Years of Photography; National Gallery of Art, Washing-
ton, D.C., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia and traveling
1990 Photography Until Now; Museum of Modern Art; New
York, New York
1992 Special Collections: The Photographic Order from Pop
to Now; International Center of Photography; New
York, New York
2002 Taken By Design: Photographs from the Institute of
Design, 1937–1971; Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago,
Illinois (traveled to San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art, San Francisco, California and Philadelphia Mu-
seum of Art, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSelected Works
Europe: Frankfurt, 1961
Philadelphia, 1963
Torso II, 1965
Sailing on 9th, 1966
Double Frame: New York City, 1966
Sand Creatures: Cape May, 1973
Pictus Interruptus: Camden, New Jersey, 1977
City Whispers: Chicago, 1981
Castagneto, Italy, 1985
Moab, Utah, 1993METZKER, RAY K.