Dave Heath
David Martin Heath (June 27, 1931 – June 27, 2016) was an American documentary, humanist and street photographer. Heath's books include A Dialogue with Solitude (1965). In 2015, a retrospective of his work was hosted by Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Also recorded as David Martin Heath · David M. Heath · David Heath
Dave Heath
- Name
- David Martin Heath
- Born
- 27 June 1931
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 27 June 2016
- Occupation
- Photographer
- Education
- * Philadelphia College of Art (1954–1955)
- Known for
- A Dialogue with Solitude (1965)
- Nationality
- United States · Canada
- Fields
- documentary photography · street photography
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
David Martin Heath (June 27, 1931 – June 27, 2016) was an American documentary, humanist and street photographer. Heath's books include A Dialogue with Solitude (1965). In 2015, a retrospective of his work was hosted by Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Dave Heath (1931–2016) was a Canadian and American photographer and university teacher. Born in Philadelphia, the photographer died in Toronto.
Dave Heath studied at The New School for Social Research. The photographer was active in documentary photography and street photography.
Languages used include English. Works by Dave Heath are held at Art Institute of Chicago, Harry Ransom Center and Museum of Modern Art, among others. The photographer received Guggenheim Fellowship.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q18422135 · wikipedia · Dave Heath
In this article
Biography
Biography
His work is held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Museum of Modern Art.
Dave Heath studied at The New School for Social Research. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is documentary photography and street photography. Work by Dave Heath is recorded in the collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Harry Ransom Center and Photography Collection. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — David Martin Heath • Born — 27 June 1931 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 27 June 2016 • Occupation — Photographer • Education — * Philadelphia College of Art (1954–1955) • Chicago Institute of Design (1955–1956) • The New School for Social Research (1959) • Known for — A Dialogue with Solitude (1965) • Years Active — 1947–2016 David Martin Heath (June 27, 1931 – June 27, 2016) was an American documentary, humanist and street photographer. Heath's books include A Dialogue with Solitude (1965). In 2015, a retrospective of his work was hosted by Philadelphia Museum of Art. His work is held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Museum of Modern Art.
Life and work
Life and work
Heath was born in Philadelphia. He was inspired by Life magazine, most notably the article "Bad Boy's Story: An Unhappy Child Learns to Live at Peace with the World" by Life photographer Ralph Crane in 1947, and the 1946 book Photography is a Language by John R. Whiting. He was a mostly self-taught photographer. He was drafted in 1952 and served in Korea, taking many photographs there. On his return, he attended Philadelphia Museum College, followed by Philadelphia College of Art during the 1954 to 1955. He moved to Chicago to study at the Chicago Institute of Design in the 1955 to 1956 school year. In 1959, he attended The New School for Social Research in New York City, where he settled. In the late 1950s, he made street photographs of people in Washington Square Park in New York City, later collected in the book Washington Square (2016). He emigrated to Toronto in 1970.
Solo exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
• Seven Arts Coffee Gallery, New York City, 1958. • Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2015; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, November 2016 – March 2017. A retrospective. • Dave Heath: Dialogues with Solitudes, Le Bal, Paris, September–December 2018; The Photographers' Gallery, London, March–June 2019.
Group exhibitions
Group exhibitions
• Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 1959
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Toronto.
Death place
Books by Heath
Books by Heath
• A Dialogue with Solitude. New York: Community; Horizon, 1965. With an introduction by Hugh Edwards and a "letter" by Robert Frank. Edition of 1400 copies. • Reprinted edition. Toronto: Lumiere, 2000.. • Korea Photographs 1953–1954. Toronto: Lumiere, 2004.. • David Heath's Art Show. Toronto: Anonymous, 2007.. Edition of 1300 copies. • Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015. By Keith F. Davis.. With contributions by Michael Torosian and a director's foreword by Julián Zugazagoitia. • Washington Square. Stanley/Barker, 2016.. Includes an excerpt from "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg as an introduction. Edition of 1000 copies. • Dialogues with Solitudes. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl; Paris: Le Bal, 2018.. • One Brief Moment. Stanley/Barker, 2022..
Hand made artist books by Heath
Hand made artist books by Heath
• 3. 1952. • No Dancing in the Streets. 1954. • Chicago. 1956. • In Search of Self: A Portfolio. 1956.
Publications with contributions by Heath
Publications with contributions by Heath
• Ryerson: A Community of Photographers. Toronto: Ryerson Community, 1974.
Collections
Collections
Heath's work is held in the following permanent collections: • J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA: 4 prints (as of March 2019) • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 15 prints (as of March 2019) • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX: 33 prints (as of March 2019) • Museum of Modern Art, New York: 14 prints (as of March 2019) • Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL: 3 prints (as of March 2019)
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Dave Heath”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q18422135: Dave Heath
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Dave Heath: A haunted genius behind the camera. The Globe and Mail.
- 2.Adams, Tim. The big picture: a street corner in civil rights-era Chicago. The Guardian. 9 September 2018. 0261-3077.
- 3.Philadelphia. 84-Year-Old Philly-Born Photographer, Dave Heath, Finally Gets His Due. 15 September 2015.
- 4.Biography on Joseph Bellows Gallery website
- 5."Dave Heath, Photographer of Isolation, Dies at 85, by Richard B. Woodward, The New York Times, July 1, 2016
- 6.Chandler, David. Dave Heath: an eye for the mournful moment. Financial Times.
- 7.David Heath's portraits from 1950s Washington Square New York published for first time. British Journal of Photography. 15 November 2016.
- 8.Dave Heath in the RKD
- 9.Newell-Hanson, Alice. candid portraits of teen beatniks in 50s washington square. I-D. 29 November 2016.
- 10.Bowman, Lisa. These candid pics show what life was like as a teen beatnik in the 1950s. Metro. 14 January 2017.
- 11.Crisell, Hattie. See Vintage Photos of the Teens Who Ran Washington Square Park in the 1950s. The Cut. 30 November 2016.
- 12.Washington Square by Dave Heath on Dashwood Books. Dashwood Books.
- 13.Woodward, Richard B. 'Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath' Review. The Wall Street Journal. 28 September 2015. 0099-9660.
- 14.Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath, September 19, 2015 - February 21, 2016, Philadelphia Museum of Art website
- 15.The Photographs of Dave Heath. Nelson Atkins.
- 16.O'Hagan, Sean. Top 10 photography shows of 2019. The Guardian. 16 December 2019. 0261-3077.
- 17.Dave Heath: Dialogues with Solitude. The Photographers' Gallery. 23 January 2019.
- 18.Dave Heath (American, 1931 - 2016). J. Paul Getty Museum.
- 19.Search / All Results. www.metmuseum.org.
- 20.Search the Collection. www.mfah.org Dead link. January 2024.
- 21.Dave Heath. Museum of Modern Art.
- 22.Works of: Dave Heath. smartcollection.uchicago.edu.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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