Collecting Photographers: Marie Cosindas

Sunday, December 13, 2009



Marie Cosindas is best known for her romantic, muted photography with Polaroid film. At the time she started working with the new emulsion it was considered a consumer product. With the insight & largess of Edwin Land, the inventor, she legitimized it as a tool for fine art.




At a Bicentennial Party I rebuffed a number of important patrons, stepped through the gathering & shook her hand. At which time she confided to me that she was going for a scoliosis operation. I thought the nicest way to solidify a relationship with this luminary was to visit her there. So on a snowy, blizzard ridden day I trudged up the hill to her hospital. I found her in traction with screws through her skull & through her knees. Her small body was in obvious pain. But rudely I persisted. Question after question I threw at her until eventually she asked me to leave. We have been friends ever since.

There are probably a hundred thousand stories. This has been one of them.


Wikipedia Biography
Her Bibliography: Color Photographs by Marie Cosindas

2 comments:

Anonymous,  December 19, 2009 at 10:26 AM  

Her work was a tremendous influence in my early photo work...the subtle tones and the impeccable design. We finally met at her show at the Klein Gallery a few years ago. Marvelous woman! I bought a print "Holly and Michael", who were friends of mine in the late 60's, which wound up being a 'one-off'(she moved to a different process)in her transition from dye-sub to digital print making. Enjoyed the story of your encounter with this photo legend.

Bill Willis

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blog (blŏg, bläg) n. 1. short for Weblog 2. online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer 3. diary that is posted on the Internet 4. an experiment to verbalize my observations about the status of photography. It will be eclectic & deal with philosophy & practice of this universal art form. It will strive for periodic commentary about issues many photographers face, like ownership and the economy. It will also talk about pictures and what makes good ones and how to get them. No hardware. No software. No recycled clichés. No whining.