Minor White was born on July 9, 1908 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His efforts were to extend photography's range of expression, because of this he greatly influenced innovative photography in the mid-20th century. White had a deep love for photography at a young age, but he put it to the side for a while, so he could study botany and poetry. So, he actually began taking photography seriously in 1937. So, in these years, he spent his time working for the Works Progress Administration. White also served in the U.S. Army during WWII, and he moved to New York where he met some famous photographers.
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When he moved to New York City, he studied at Columbia University and in 1946 he became part of the faculty of the California School of fine arts, where he was working under Ansel Adams. White was also one of the people who founded Aperture magazine, along with Adams, Dorothea Lange, and Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. Lastly, he served as a professor of photography at MIT from 1965-1976. Unfortunately, White died on June 24, 1976 in Cambridge, Massachusetts because of a heart attack.
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(Interview conducted by Robert Brown, in Rochester, NY, for the Archives of American Art)