Art Wolfe's images are known to millions throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition and perspective in spectacular natural settings. Wolfe is unable to speculate whether his photographic oeuvre comprises closer to a half million or a million images, and he frequently finds his own work staring back at him from the pages of magazines he did not even know had purchased rights from his staff. The scope of his career very nearly overwhelms the man himself, but his artistic training and passionate wildlife advocacy tell a fascinating tale of a man driven to his work.
The son of commercial artists in Seattle, Washington, Wolfe graduated from the University of Washington, where he received bachelor's degrees in fine arts and art education. Unlike most nature photographers who approach their work from a biology background, Wolfe came to photography through his zeal for the outdoors and his training in the arts. Photo editors and fans alike praise his vision and mastery over subtle color differences and lighting.
Just three years after his college graduation, Wolfe published his first book and he built a career of staggering success in very short order. Soon his travel schedule left him on the road more than at home and today he spends nine months of the year traveling and shooting over 2,000 rolls of film per year. His twenty year career has taken him to every continent and into the equally rarefied territories of book publishing and video production. Magazines the world over publish his photographs. In fact, just representing his work makes his six person staff a self-described "medium-sized stock agency."
His photographic mission is multifaceted, comprising artistic, journalistic, and documentary endeavors, as well as educational projects. Wolfe has mounted exhibitions of both his landscape paintings and his photographic images, but photography remains his consuming passion. Books, too, are a passion: Wolfe has published over twenty volumes, and usually has a dozen in some stage of production at any given time. Among his books are two that were named by Graphis magazine as among the top 100 books published between 1990-95: Light on the Land (1991) and Migrations (1994). In addition, Light on the Land was selected by the Clinton Administration as a presidential gift of state. Wolfe also undertook an instructional and adventure video for outdoor photographers titled, On Location with Art Wolfe, and has been featured in Kodak's instructional program series, Techniques of the Masters. He was the host for two seasons of American Photo's Safari, shown on ESPN, where he provided technical and artistic advice to nature photographers and the photography-keen celebrities who were guests on the show.
Wolfe's prowess as a maker of artistic, photographic images makes him prominent among outdoor photographers, and he joins his colleagues in the long-standing fight to preserve the environment. "We're losing the natural world way too fast," he says. He regularly donates time, images, and other resources to environmentally active organizations, doing what he can as an artist and as a public figure to bolster their cause. Wolfe teaches workshops and produces a biennial multi-media program to raise money for various charities, including the Northwest AIDS Foundation, the E. Donald Thomas Guild of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the Woodland Park Zoo. Wolfe also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Wolfe's work serves as an artistic interpretation, a journalistic record, and an archival documentary of the world's fast-disappearing flora, fauna, landscapes and native cultures.
A catalogue of Art Wolfe's work is available. Call 800-473-2205 or write 6971 47th Avenue SW, Seattle, Washington 98136.
