Allan Tannenbaum
Allan Tannenbaum has been capturing the world through photography since the 1960s. He earned a B.A. in Art from Rutgers University in 1967 and later pursued graduate studies at San Francisco State College. After serving as a seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine, Tannenbaum taught photography and filmmaking at Rutgers' Livingston College from 1970 to 1972.
In 1973, he became the Photo Editor and Chief Photographer for the newly founded SoHo Weekly News in New York City. Over the next decade, he documented the vibrant art world, music scene, politics, show business, and nightlife in New York. His most iconic moment came in 1980 when he photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a memory forever marked by Lennon's tragic murder just 10 days later. Tannenbaum’s photographic archive is regarded as one of the most significant documents of 1970s New York City culture.
While at SoHo Weekly News, Tannenbaum freelanced for major publications such as Newsweek and New York Magazine, and his work was syndicated worldwide. When the SoHo Weekly News folded in 1982, he joined the prestigious Sygma Photo News agency, covering national and international stories of great historical importance. His assignments took him to South Africa, the Philippines, Burma, Northern Ireland, Kuwait, Iraq, Rwanda, and many other places, documenting key moments such as the Intifada, the Philippine Revolution, and the Gulf War. In 1989, he won the World Press Photo Award for Spot News Stories for his coverage of the Intifada.
Tannenbaum's work spans numerous countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, and Brazil. One of his most memorable assignments came on September 11, 2001, when he photographed the terrorist attacks on New York City. Just six blocks from his home, he captured the second plane hitting the World Trade Center and continued documenting the devastation amid the collapse of the towers. His 9/11 photographs have been published and exhibited worldwide, and in 2013, Tannenbaum received a proclamation from the New York City Council in recognition of his invaluable documentation of the tragedy.
His photos have appeared in major publications like Newsweek, Time, Life, Rolling Stone, Paris Match, and Stern. Tannenbaum's work has also appeared on the covers of TIME three times and Newsweek five times.
In 2003, Tannenbaum’s first photo book, NEW YORK IN THE 70s, was published by German publisher Feierabend Verlag. The book quickly sold out and received critical acclaim. A second edition was released in 2009 by Overlook Press. In 2005, he published NEW YORK, a second book showcasing his photographs of the city from the 1980s to the early 2000s. His third book, JOHN & YOKO: A NEW YORK LOVE STORY, released in 2007 by Insight Editions, features intimate portraits of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was named one of the ten best photography books of 2007 by American Photo and won a Gold Medal at the 2008 Independent Book Publisher Awards. Tannenbaum’s fourth book, GRIT & GLAMOUR: The Street Style, High Fashion, and the Legendary Music of the 1970s, was published in 2016 by Insight Editions.
Tannenbaum continues to photograph, exhibit his work globally, and preserve the rich legacy of his photographic archive.
