Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Archivist for The Huntington: Donald G. Rogers


"Deception Point," Yosemite,) officially Inspiration Point)

Photo: ©Donald G. Rogers



Later this month you'll be reading about Donald G. Rogers, less formally known as Don, as we talk about his work at The Huntington in San Marino, California. The Huntington was the family ranch for Henry and Arabella Huntington from 1903 till 1927 when Henry and Arabella had both died.

Henry left the ranch to the Huntington Foundation, along with the then princely sum of $8.6 million dollars. That money was spent years ago, and the foundation now exists with a modest endowment of less than $200 million dollars. No longer a princely sum when you consider that The Huntington supports the world famous and world class Huntington research library, art galleries and more than 200 acres of botanical gardens.

What does Don Rogers have to do with all this? Since the 1960's he has become an informal archivist/documentarian for The Huntington. He first visited as a child more than 60 years ago, and since then has thousands, literally thousands of other visits under his belt. He has photographed the architecture, the grounds, and the staff. His photographs include color and black and white, and many have been made using panoramic cameras such as the Widelux, and the Noblex 150. Look for the article in the December issue of the Photographers' Formulary newsletter, on the newsstand near you, or in your emailbox on or about November 15, 2007!

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