Eugene ralph meatyard biography

American photographer

Ralph Eugene Meatyard (May 15, – May 7, ) was an American photographer from Normal, Illinois, U.S.

Life and career

Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois in May and raised in the nearby town of Bloomington.^[1] When he turned 18 during World War II, he joined the United States Navy, though he did not serve overseas before the war ended.

After leaving the force he attended Williams College under the GI Bill, and briefly studied pre-dentistry, before training to become an optician.

He moved with his new wife Madelyn to Lexington, Kentucky to continue working as an optician for Tinder-Krausse-Tinder, a company which also sold photographic equipment.

The owners of the company were active members of the Lexington Camera Club, for which the Art Department of the University of Kentucky provided exhibition space.

Meatyard purchased his first camera in to photograph his newborn first child, and subsequently worked primarily w