His photographs have been exhibited worldwide (Spain, England, Australia, and, of course, the United States). But alumnus Robert Weingarten ('62) has gone full circle and come home again. Sixteen of his most accomplished photographs comprised his solo Mishkin Gallery exhibition Landscape as Symphony: Photographs by Robert Weingarten. The show, mounted at his alma mater, ran from May 27 through June 13. Weingarten's photographs are in numerous museum, corporate, and individual collections, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum, and the National Gallery of Australia. In England, he has been honored as a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

Weingarten has been interested in photography since childhood (he remembers being entranced by the front-page photos at city newsstands). Practically inclined, he chose to pursue finance rather than fine arts in college. Success followed. For over 35 years, Weingarten has been involved in the financial services business. He is chairman of the board of Whitehall Financial Group, LLC, a private merchant bank, and serves as the chairman of the board of Veritas Holdings AG, an international reinsurance holding company. His civic and charitable activities over the years have included serving as vice chairman of the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts and a member of the Banking and Monetary Policy Committee. He is the director of Aperture Foundation (west) and the Colburn School of Performing Arts and chairman of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the Hollywood Bowl.

Although photography has always been a big part of his life (his camera was packed on business trips), Weingarten only made his professional photographic debut in 1997. And since the age of 55, he has refocused his life to pursue this passion.

Hills, mountains, meadows, ponds—the rhythm and color of pastoral landscape—are the subjects of his photographs. His landscapes capture painterly light and have been termed "quietscapes," depicting the visual eloquence of nature only partially humanized. "My images try to at once reflect the timelessness of the landscape and the fleeting nature of a particular confluence of light and conditions," Weingarten explains. His photographs are reminiscent of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings in their use of color, at once luminescent and transcendent. Weingarten is pleased when this influence is noticed. "Yes, I have been greatly influenced by the Impressionists," he says, "but there are also many photographers I respect and admire."

Weingarten travels throughout the world with camera in hand. His favorite place to photograph? Tuscany. "There's very special light in Tuscany. Also, there's something about the way the people have planted—with the eye of the artist. When you travel in Tuscany, it feels as if you are driving through paintings," he rhapsodizes.

Closer to home, Weingarten has been at work for the last three years on a series of black-and-white photographs of the Amish. The series has taken him to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin and will be the subject of a forthcoming book and traveling museum exhibition. Black-and-white photography seems a bit of a departure for Weingarten, most of whose photographs radiate intense color. "The Amish are living in a different century," he explains. "It's a totally different aesthetic. Black and white is more appropriate. It's important to fit the medium with the subject."

Weingarten sees the various aspects of his life as all of a piece. "Hemingway once said, 'All my work is part of my work.' All of life is a part of your work, because everything you do influences your work." When asked to consider the cross-section of business and photography, Weingarten responds: "Are there lessons in fine art photography that apply to business? Of course there are. When you come on a scene where there is a broad vista, the first thing you need to do is focus on what you think is important to the scene and attracts your eye; then you frame the picture, hopefully eliminating all extraneous elements; and then you need to compose the final shot thinking about all the creative ways you can do this. Let's see: focus, eliminating extraneous items, and creativity. It sounds like good sound business advice to me." —DH

Above: Autumn Canopy, Cascades, Washington, 2000
Iris print, edition: 16/33, 22" x 36"