Gregory Halpern

---

title: "Gregory Halpern" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-births", "living-people", "people-from-buffalo,-new-york", "harvard-university-alumni", "california-college-of-the-arts-alumni", "american-photographers", "magnum-photographers"] description: "American photographer and teacher (born 1977)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Halpern" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American photographer and teacher (born 1977) ::

Gregory Halpern (born 1977) is an American photographer and teacher, living in Rochester, New York. He is a professor of photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a full member of Magnum Photos. Halpern has published a number of books of his own work; Zzyzx won PhotoBook of the Year at the 2016 Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2014.

Early life and education

Halpern grew up in Buffalo, New York. He holds a BA in history and literature from Harvard University and an MFA from California College of the Arts.

Life and work

Omaha Sketchbook (2009) is an artist's book portrait of the titular city. Harvard Works Because We Do (2003) is a book of photographs and text, presenting a portrait of Harvard University through the eyes of the school's service employees. A (2011) is a photographic ramble through the streets of the American Rust Belt. East of the Sun, West of the Moon (2014) is a collaboration with the photographer Ahndraya Parlato. Zzyzx (2016), named after Zzyzx, California, contains photographs from Los Angeles. Let the Sun Beheaded Be (2020) was made over several months in the French archipelago of Guadeloupe. King, Queen, Knave (2024) was made over 20 years visiting Halpern's home city of Buffalo, New York (again in the Rust Belt).

Halpern became a nominee member of Magnum Photos in 2018, an associate member two years later, and a full member in 2023. He has taught at California College of the Arts, Cornell University, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harvard University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is currently a professor of photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Personal life

Halpern is married to Ahndraya Parlato, also a photographer. They live in Rochester, New York with their two daughters.

Publications

Publications by Halpern

• Harvard Works Because We Do. New York: Quantuck Lane/W.W. Norton, 2003. With an introduction by Studs Terkel
• Omaha Sketchbook. J&L, 2009.
• A. J&L, 2011.
• Zzyzx. London: Mack, 2016.
• Confederate Moons. Oakland, CA: TBW, 2018. . Annual Series 6, Book 3. Halpern, Guido Guidi, Jason Fulford, and Viviane Sassen each had one book in a set of four. Edition of 1000 copies.
• Let the Sun Beheaded Be. New York: Aperture, 2020. .
• King, Queen, Knave. London: Mack, 2024. .

Publications with others

• The Photographer's Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas. New York: Aperture, 2014. . Edited by Halpern and Jason Fulford.
• East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Études Books N°8. Paris: Études, 2014. By Ahndraya Parlato and Halpern. . With a text by Nicholas Muellner. Edition of 300 copies. In English and French.

Awards

• 2014: Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
• 2016: Zzyzx won PhotoBook of the Year, Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, Paris.

References

References

1. "Gregory Halpern".
2. (11 November 2016). "Announcing the Winners of the 2016 PhotoBook Awards". [[Aperture Foundation]].
3. (19 September 2019). "15 years of photographing the 'american heartland'".
4. "Gregory Halpern".
5. "Omaha Sketchbook by Gregory Halpern".
6. (1 September 2019). "The big picture: crash and dash at the demolition derby".
7. (28 September 2003). "ON WRITERS AND WRITING; Harvard's Working Poor". The New York Times.
8. "Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Living / Arts / A Harvard education".
9. (November 6, 2014). "Gregory Halpern and Ahndraya Parlato's Gloriously Unmoored Photographs".
10. Ulin, David L.. (13 September 2016). "Southern California, End of the Line". [[The New Yorker]].
11. (9 October 2016). "Gregory Halpern".
12. "Gregory Halpern: Let the Sun Beheaded Be".
13. "Gregory Halpern's "Let the Sun Beheaded Be"".
14. (2024-09-26). "'People feel ignored': photographer Gregory Halpern on hardship and hope in the US rust belt". The Guardian.
15. "Magnum Photos' international new wave of Nominees – British Journal of Photography".
16. "Gregory Halpern {{!}} Magnum Photos Magnum Photos".
17. (29 July 2014). "Gregory Halpern".
18. "CV Gregory Halpern, Assistant Professor".
19. "At home with Gregory Halpern and his collection of photobooks {{!}} Magnum Photos Magnum Photos".
20. "Gregory Halpern".
21. (15 October 2016). "Gregory Halpern's ZZYZX – California dreamin' in the 21st century".
22. (19 December 2016). "The best photography books of 2016".
23. (27 August 2020). "Magical beauty and deep pain in Gregory Halpern's homage to Guadeloupe".
24. (20 October 2014). "East of the Sun, West of the Moon".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::