On Kathy Ryan
After 37 years as the Director of Photography at The New York Times Magazine Kathy Ryan is stepping down. The magazine's Editor-In-Chief Jake Silverstein wrote a succinct piece on her importance, but I'll add that it's difficult to overstate her influence on American photography.
She has presided at the center of civilized culture for over a third of a century, apparently with greater autonomy than most of her peers at other magazines. She took a publication already respected for its pictures and managed to elevate it. And not just in the early years, but continually, until the present day.
She is also well-known for having developed talent in her photo team, many of whom went on to lead photo departments around the country. But what is less talked about is that they’re not simply clones sent out into the world to magnify her influence. Each one of these prominent photo editors have their own approach and aesthetic; what they have in common with Ryan is an enduring excitement for the medium, and a pursuit of excellence.
But even within the magazine's ecosystem Kathy had a unique presence. Last year she appeared on the Print Is Dead podcast and I wrote this brief note to her afterwards:
What stood out to me was your optimism about the work that we do, and the value of thoughtful curated photography. With the constant overflow of images thrown at us daily it's easy to get overwhelmed and cynical about the value and power of photos, but at the end of the day, when my phone and my computer are turned off I turn to my bookshelf and pull out a book of pictures and take them in again.
The pictures might be contemporary (I recently bought Deana Lawson's monograph) or classic (I'm always delighted to return to Arnold Newman's best portraits), but there is real power and meaning to these images and storytelling that runs deep.
Since the late 90s, I’ve worked for The Times Magazine 35 times, rarely directly with Kathy, but always with her implicit approval. I am extremely grateful for these opportunities. Not only did many grant me access to important people and stories, but the magazine staff held me to a high standard, prompting me to step up my practice to meet them there. It's not an accident that many of my best pictures were made for The New York Times Magazine!
I’d always been a little intimidated by Kathy, she was a mysterious figure to me. Possibly because I rarely worked right alongside her, but also because she was a top picture editor at the best magazine in the country! Nevertheless, I hope that now that she’s shifting her position, I’ll have a chance to work alongside her as a photographer peer.
First Image: New York Times Magazine cover, San Francisco, CA 2003.
Second Image: Jason Acuña, Los Angeles, CA 2022.
Third Image: George Clooney, New York, NY 2002.
Fourth: KAWS, New York, NY 2021.
Bottom Image: A letter and snapshots from Kathy Ryan, sent after our Dame Edna cover session, New York, NY 2005. (I had a memory of there being some photos taken the day of, so I dug through my archives and found this treat. At the time, I was amused that she was apologizing while being nice enough to send the BTS shots. But now that it’s been well-established that she's a gifted photographer her disappointment makes more sense.)