THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY It is with a mix of sadness, admiration and amazement that I'm writing to share some big news: After 39 years at The New York Times Magazine, 37 as director of photography, Kathy Ryan is retiring.
Kathy is an icon. She has truly had more impact than any magazine director of photography in our time. Within photography circles, she is a genuine legend, the recipient of multiple career-spanning awards, including a 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Griffin Museum, a 2012 Outstanding Service to Photography Award from the Royal Photographic Society and a 2014 Vision Award from the Center for Photography at Woodstock.
We're lucky that she built this remarkable career here at the Magazine. Kathy, as anyone who has worked with her can attest, is an astoundingly powerful engine of creativity. And she runs a department that never misses a beat, producing spectacular work at a relentless pace, from last year's unforgettable visual story by Lynsey Addario about a Ukrainian boy's life on the front lines to the more recent portfolio by Jim Nachtwey on "actors in the wild." She remains at the top of her game.
But Kathy is also, as many people know, a photographer in her own right, and she has decided that the moment has come for her to spend more time making pictures. (Some of her pictures of our building are collected in the delightful 2014 book "Office Romance.") I'm deeply grateful to her for all she has given us and excited for what she does next.
It's hard to wrap your mind around the duration of Kathy's tenure. Peter Howe, who was the director of photography in the 1980s, gets the credit for hiring her in 1985 to be his deputy. Two years later, in 1987, she took over. Since then, the work that she has overseen has won World Press Photo Awards, Overseas Press Club Awards, Lucie Awards and National Magazine Awards, and adorned more than 1,500 magazine covers. We all remember certain iconic images from the Magazine - Sebastião Salgado's 1991 photo of the Kuwaiti oil fields; a 1997 photo issue of Times Square on the cusp of change; the post-9/11 issue with a cover showing the two beams of light where the twin towers once stood; a brilliant JR image of a walking New Yorker pasted on the ground on Flatiron Plaza, photographed from a helicopter. Kathy was at the helm for all of these, and so many more. Janet Froelich, who worked with Kathy as the Magazine's creative director, told me: "For over 30 years Kathy pushed the boundaries of magazine photography."
Another part of Kathy's legacy is her mentorship. The list of people who came up through her department and moved on to run photo departments at other magazines is very long, a powerful testament to her impact on the industry. She has worked with eight different editors in chief - Ed Klein, Jimmy Greenfield, Warren Hoge, Jack Rosenthal, Adam Moss, Gerry Marzorati, Hugo Lindgren and me. "Kathy was such a trusted and crucial partner," Gerry told me. "Her eye for pictures and talent, her tireless energy, her resolve that making a magazine each week is a team effort." She also worked with five different creative directors - Ken Kendrick, Diana LaGuardia, Janet Froelich, Arem Duplessis and Gail Bichler. "During my two decades plus in the magazine industry I worked with some really extraordinary people," said Rem. "But none with the tenacity, passion and taste of Kathy."
"What's the line, 'I was blind and now I see'? That's what Kathy did for me: She taught me how to look," Adam Moss told me. "I loved every minute of working together."
At the core of the work that Kathy does are her many long relationships with photographers. The list of people she has worked with closely over decades is a who's who of incredible photographers of this era: She would be the first to give them all the credit for the brilliant work of theirs she has published. But we all know that so much of her own vision and hard work went into the assignments and arrangements and creative ideas that lead to the moment when the shutter opened and a great picture was made.
Kathy has also been an inspiring generator of new formats and ideas. She created the Great Performers video series, which began in 2010 with "14 Actors Acting," directed by Sølve Sundsbø. The videos would go on to win two News and Documentary Emmys, for "14 Actors Acting" and "Touch of Evil," directed by Alex Prager, along with several more nominations. She was a big part of our foray into virtual reality in 2015. Part of what has made Kathy an amazing creative partner is that she's totally dauntless.
It's impossible to highlight everything that Kathy has done, but in its totality, I think it represents one of the great careers in the magazine industry. I know I speak for everyone who has been a colleague of Kathy's when I say it was an honor to ride alongside her for part of the way. Her last day will be May 22. Before then, we'll have a chance to celebrate her career with colleagues past and present.
Bravo, Kathy, on an incredible career at the Times!
-Jake
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The New York Times Company published this content on 02 April 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 02 April 2024 19:03:06 UTC.
