When then famous photographer George Daniell was suffering from a severe stroke in 1994, rendering him wheelchair ridden, his photographic oeuvre was collated in a manuscript. Titled “A Roving Eye” the project was lead by editor Ulrich W. Hiesinger. The subjects on the list of photographs read like the who is who of the 20-century cinema, art, literature and stage personalities; Hepburn, Fonda, Loren, Williams, O’Keefe, Navarro, Cloos and many more. Whilst his photos became the icons by which we remember of these celebrities, the photographer’s name sank into oblivion. George Daniell Estate, Helmut Schuster the director of the Geroge Daniell Museum and ZentralDepot are thrilled to have rediscovered George Daniell’s absolutely astounding photographic legacy; a legacy comprised of tens of thousands of negatives, 3730 vintage silver gelatine prints, more than 1000 paintings and aquarelles by the photographer, who understood himself as an artist photographer.

On Washington Avenue, Miami Beach a dedicated George Daniell museum opened December 2018.

Why has George Daniell, a Yale graduate and one of the great American photographers of the 20th century, been completely forgotten? Further investigation is required; however, clues point towards a combination of his private personality, his open engagement in the LGBT+ community, and his later life of seclusion in Maine. The George Daniell Museum is a great starting point for the rediscovery and late appreciation of George Daniell’s oeuvre for a wider audience.

We are a proud Member of the Wilzig Museum Building and hope you will enjoy as a visitor our Museum and all of our partner Museums in the building

 

Helmut Schuster

 

Director George Daniell Museum