Ryan Weideman American, b. 1941

In 1980, Ryan Weideman cruised into New York City to become a street photographer. Having graduated with an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts, Weideman already had a style greatly influenced by the other photographers of the period including Lee Friedlander and Mark Cohen. Yet, after a month in New York City, Weideman’s focus turned to more immediate goals – earning money to pay his rent. Soon after renting a tenement on West 43rd Street (an apartment in which he still lives), a chance encounter with a neighbor who drove a taxi led Weideman to his newfound profession.

Ryan Weideman’s work is in the collections of many prestigious institutions including the Brooklyn Museum, the Oakland Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Weideman’s awards include Guggenheim Fellowship Grant (1992-1993), a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (1986-1987), and a NEA Fellowship Grant.