Oral History Interview with Richard Lebowitz, August 29, 2023

Authors

Richard Lebowitz, Rhode Island School of Design, Professor EmeritusFollow
Ann Fessler, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow
RISD Archives, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow

Files

Description

Interview of Richard Lebowitz, conducted by Ann Fessler in Providence, RI on August 29, 2023 for the RISD Oral History Project. Lebowitz speaks of his early life in New York City when he first began photographing and how that led to him being approached by Harry Callahan over a teaching job in the Photography department at the Rhode Island School of Design. Lebowitz also recalls participating in the Private Parts exhibition along with other RISD students and faculty. Along with this, Lebowitz and Fessler discuss the different faculty they have worked with during their time teaching at RISD and changes that have occurred at the school, including Lebowitz's friendship with Dieter Roth.

Biographical/Historical Note

Richard Lebowitz is a photographer who taught in the Photography Department at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1964-1995. His work is held in collections including the Rhode Island School of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Canada.

Lebowitz is interviewed by Ann Fessler, a visual artist, filmmaker, and author who taught at RISD 1993-2017 in the Photography Department. She has served as both the Head of the Photography Department and as the Director of the Graduate Program in Photography. Her book, The Girls Who Went Away, was chosen as one of the top five nonfiction books of 2006 by the National Book Critics Circle and received the Ballard Book Prize. The interview takes place on August 29, 2023.

Recommended Citation

Lebowitz, Richard; Fessler, Ann; and Archives, RISD, "Oral History Interview with Richard Lebowitz, August 29, 2023" (2023). RISD Oral History Project. 37.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/archives_oralhistories/37