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Roloff Beny
Photographer
Canada
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Reprinted from:
Iran America Society's catalog, 1978
During the past twenty years, Roloff Beny has established a unique position in book publishing as artist, author, and photographer. His photographs have been described by the New York Times as "…works of art, poetic, evocative, even at times mystical". His books, strong visual portraits of countries, have been published internationally in 66 separate editions. This personal selection of photographs from his archives reveals his passionate concern with the visual world.
As a painter he had twenty-five one-man exhibitions and was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952. His study of etching and graphic arts provided the link between his painting, photography and book design. His books, for which he provides both the overall concept and the photography, include THE THRONES OF EARTH AND HEAVEN; A TIME OF GODS, selected as one of the fifty great books of 1965 by the Comite des Arts Graphiques Francais, and awarded a Silver Medal at the Leipzig Book Fair; PLEASURE OF RUINS, for which Rose Macaulay’s text was adapted, states and has appeared in eight languages. His next book, TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON, was awarded the Silver Eagle at the International Book Fair in Nice, France in 1969 and was number one on Canada’s Best Seller’s List in 1967. It was selected by the Canadian Government on the recommendation of the Secretary of State to be given to Heads of State visiting Canada during the Centennial Year, 1967.
Roloff Beny was appointed a "Knight of Mark Twain" for this portrait of his own country. His book JAPAN IN COLOUR, with a text by Anthony Thwaite, was awarded the Gold Medal at the Leipzig International Book Fair in 1968 as the most beautiful book of the year. The companion volumes, INDIA in collaboration with Aubrey Menen, and ISLAND: CEYLON, with John Lindsay Opie, were both commissioned by the governments of their countries. In his book, ROLOFF BENY IN ITALY, which was chosen for the Book of the Month Club, he shares with the reader his own visual notebook of a 25-year encounter with the reader his own visual notebook of a 25-year encounter with Italy designed with dedicated love, like a contemporary illuminated manuscript.
Most recently and by command of the Queen of Iran, he prepared a major work on Iran entitled PERSIA, BRIDGE OF TURQUOISE, which was published in 1975, and is now translated in 7 languages. The French edition, LA PERSE, PONT DE TURQUOISE was awarded the Charles BLANC Medallion by the Academic Francaise in 1977. He has now created a companion volume on Iran of today and their vision of tomorrow. IRAN – ELEMENTS OF DESTINY is a modern portrait of one of the world’s great nations, the meeting place of East and West, a state that has emerged as a vital link in the community nations.
In 1967 he was awarded a Centennial Medal by the Government of Canada, in 1968 a Visual Arts Award by the Canada Council. He received an Honorary LL.D. from the University of Lethbridge in 1972. In 1973 he was elected a life member of the Royal Canadian Academy and awarded the Order of Canada.
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