American photojournalist
Bob Gomel
(born August 14, 1933)
[1]
is an American photojournalist who created images of 1960s world leaders, athletes, entertainers, and major events. His photographs have appeared on the covers of
Life
,
Sports Illustrated
,
Newsweek
,
Fortune
, and
Forbes
, and in
Time
,
The New York Times
, and
Stern
, and in more than 40 books.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Gomel's images are held in the collections of the
U.S. Library of Congress
and the
Museum of Fine Arts
in Houston.
Early life, education and family
[
edit
]
Born in New York, Gomel earned a journalism degree from
New York University
in 1955 and then served as a U.S.
naval aviator
stationed in Japan from 1955 to 1958.
[
citation needed
]
The father of three sons, Gomel resides in
Houston
with his wife, Sandra.
[5]
Life
years
[
edit
]
As a
Life
magazine photographer from January 1959 through June 1969, Gomel's coverage included
John F. Kennedy
,
[6]
the Beatles
,
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
and
Cassius Clay
, later known as Muhammad Ali,
[11]
[12]
and
Arnold Palmer
. Gomel's major-event coverage included the
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
, the
1963 March on Washington
, the 1963 funeral of President Kennedy,
[13]
[14]
the
1964 Democratic National Convention
, the 1965 Northeast blackout, the 1968 funeral of Sen.
Robert Kennedy
, the
1968 Democratic National Convention
, the
1968 Republican National Convention
, the 1969 funeral of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
,
United Nations
debates, and the baseball
World Series
. In 1964, the
University of Missouri School of Journalism
honored Gomel with the best news photo of the year.
[15]
The photo reflected the passion in the keynote speech of
Sen. John O. Pastore
at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
Gomel's 1965 photograph of the blackout-darkened New York City skyline in moonlight is believed to be the first double-exposure image published as a news photograph.
[
citation needed
]
In 1966, editors selected Gomel's "Kayaker in White Water" for inclusion in
Life
's
Best of Year issue. In 1967, Gomel's
Life
photo essay on strip-mining in Appalachia helped lead to regulatory reform.
[
citation needed
]
Gomel's 1969
Life
cover shot of President Eisenhower lying in state was the first news photograph taken from the dome of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. His camera was fired remotely by wire to a foot switch hundreds of feet below the dome.
[14]
After
Life
[
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]
From the 1970s through the 1990s, Gomel shifted his focus to commercial photography, and he moved to Houston in 1977. He shot national advertising campaigns throughout the world for
Audi
, Bulova, GTE, Merrill Lynch ("Bullish on America"),
Pan Am Airways
, Pennzoil,
Shell Oil
, the
U.S. Army
, and
Volkswagen
, and professional services companies, such as law firms and medical practices.
[
citation needed
]
In 2010, Gomel's photograph, "Malcolm X Photographing Muhammad Ali", was acquired by the
Library of Congress
.
[16]
In 2016, Gomel donated his photography archives to the
University of Texas Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
.
[17]
In recent years, Gomel has made international travel photography.
[18]
In 2020, he was featured in
Bob Gomel: Eyewitness,
a documentary directed by David Scarbrough.
[19]
In 2022, on the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's "moon-shot" speech at Rice University, his photography from the speech and other moments in early-1960s space program history was displayed in NASA Johnson Space Center and Rice University commemorative events.
[20]
In 2024, the City of Houston proclaimed April 23 as "Bob Gomel Day," recognizing Gomel for dedicating "eight decades to the advancement of American photojournalism and imagery of world cultures."
[21]
Publications
[
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]
- The Fight
. Norman Mailer. 1975 and 2013, Random House.
ISBN
9780812986129
.
- The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History
. Steven Kasher. 1996, Abbeville.
ISBN
9780789206565
.
- Life Sixty Years: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
. 1996, Time-Life.
ISBN
9781883013608
.
- Life Goes to the Movies
. David Edward Scherman. 1975, Time-Life.
ISBN
9780809416431
.
- Art Buchwald: Leaving Home, a Memoir
. 1994, Putnam Adult.
ISBN
9780786201587
.
- The Beatles: From Yesterday to Today
. Charles Hirshberg. 1996, Bullfinch; Time Life.
ISBN
9780821223178
.
- Life: Century of Change: America in Pictures
. Richard B. Stolley. 2000, Time-Life.
ISBN
9780821226971
.
- Mafia
. The Editors of Time-Life Books. 2003, Time-Life.
ISBN
9781844471034
.
- Arnold Palmer: A Personal Journey
. Thomas Houser. 2004, Harper Collins.
ISBN
9781938069499
.
- These Guys are Good: They Live to Play, They Play to Win: the Spirit and Drama of the PGA TOUR
. 2005, Tehabi Sports.
ISBN
9781933208008
.
- Building New York: The Rise and Rise of the Greatest City on Earth
. Bruce Marshall. 2005, Universe.
ISBN
9780789313621
.
- Memories of John Lennon
. Edited by Yoko Ono. 2005, Harper Collins)
- The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography
. Cynthia Goodman. 2009, Ruder-Finn.
ISBN
9781932646504
.
- 2010?2011 Rules of Golf
. United States Golf Association. 2009.
ISBN
9780941774109
.
- Moonfire, The Epic Journey of Apollo 11
. Norman Mailer. 2010, Taschen.
ISBN
9783836556224
.
- Life 75 Years: The Very Best of Life
. 2011, Time-Life.
ISBN
9781603202121
.
- Life Books: The Day Kennedy Died
. 2013, Time-Life.
ISBN
9781618930743
.
- Five Days in November
. Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin. 2013, Gallery, a Division of Simon & Schuster.
ISBN
9781476731490
.
- JFK: Superman Comes to the Supermarket
. Norman Mailer and Nina Weiner. 2014, Taschen.
ISBN
9783836550338
.
- The 1960s: The Decade When Everything Changed
. 2014, Time-Life.
- Life Books: Lincoln: An Intimate Portrait
. The Editors of Life. 2014, Time-Life.
ISBN
9781618930729
.
- Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X
. 2016, Basic.
ISBN
9780465079704
.
Collections
[
edit
]
Gomel's work is held in the following permanent collections:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Champ, The Beatles and a Tearful Girl: The Photography of Bob Gomel - 2021-08-28 - Press - News"
.
www.monroegallery.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-28
.
- ^
"Acclaimed photographer Bob Gomel looks back"
.
www.sfreporter.com
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
Monroe, Sid Michelle (2015-07-08).
"Monroe Gallery of Photography: Bob Gomel shares never-before-seen pictures of The Beatles"
.
Monroe Gallery of Photography
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
"Multiple Exposures: Life Photographer Bob Gomel Looks Back at the 1960s in Houston Exhibition"
.
PRWeb
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
"
"Bob Gomel has been a witness and participant in it all, albeit with a front row seat to history and the perspicacity of a seasoned observer." - 2020-12-18 - Press - News"
.
www.monroegallery.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-30
.
- ^
Feibel, Carrie (11 September 2012).
"Unpublished JFK Photos: Houston Remembers President Kennedy's 1962 'Moon Speech' At Rice Stadium | Houston Public Media"
.
Houston Public Media
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
Ronk, Liz.
"See Unpublished Life Photos of the Beatles on the Brink of Beatlemania"
.
Time
. Archived from
the original
on July 9, 2015
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
"Photographer unveils rare Beatles pictures"
. CBS News
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
"Houston photographer shares never-before-seen pictures of The Beatles"
.
KHOU
. Retrieved
2016-03-17
.
- ^
"35 years after John Lennon's death, revisit 35 classic photos"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
2016-03-27
.
- ^
"Should sport and politics ever mix?"
.
BBC Guides
. Retrieved
2016-03-27
.
- ^
Giovanni, Nikki; Ali, Zaheer; Boyd, Herb; Shocklee, Hank; Thrasher, Steven W. (2015-02-21).
"Malcolm X was killed half a century ago, but his work lives on in us today"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
2016-03-27
.
- ^
"30 Powerful Pictures That Defined American History"
.
BuzzFeed News
.
- ^
a
b
"Bob Gomel: My historic image | InFocus"
.
infocus.gettyimages.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-25
. Retrieved
2016-03-27
.
- ^
Life
. Time Inc. 1965-05-07.
- ^
a
b
"Photos, Prints, Drawings: Black Muslim leader Malcolm X photographing Cassius Clay surrounded by fans after he beat Sonny Liston for the heavy weight championship, Miami, February, 1964"
.
Library of Congress
. Retrieved
July 22,
2016
.
Purchase; Monroe Gallery of Photography; 2010
- ^
https://txarchives.org/utcah/finding_aids/04010.xml
- ^
"Renowned photographer Bob Gomel captured 1960s from a catbird seat"
.
Houston Chronicle
. Retrieved
2016-03-27
.
- ^
"Bob Gomel: Eyewitness | Rotten Tomatoes"
.
www.rottentomatoes.com
. Retrieved
2024-04-30
.
- ^
"From Rice to the Moon and Mars"
.
Wiess School of Natural Sciences | Rice University
.
- ^
"Apr 23, 2024 Council Meeting (April 23, 2024 & April 24, 2024) - Houston, TX"
.
houstontx.new.swagit.com
.
- ^
https://txarchives.org/utcah/finding_aids/04010.xml
- ^
"Gomel, Robert, photographic archive | Briscoe Center Digital Collections"
.
digitalcollections.briscoecenter.org
. Retrieved
2024-04-30
.
- ^
"Works | Bob Gomel | People | The MFAH Collections"
.
emuseum.mfah.org
. Retrieved
2024-04-30
.
External links
[
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]