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Visual History:
Kathy Ryan
Kathy Ryan is the longtime director of photography at The New York Times Magazine and is widely recognized for pioneering the innovative combination of fine art photography and photojournalism found in its pages. Under Ryan's leadership, the magazine has earned many of the industry's most prestigious awards, including two National Magazine Awards and two Emmy Awards for videos produced by her department. On a weekly basis, Ryan commissions powerful imagery from the world's best photographers, much of it featured in The New York Times Magazine Photographs, the seminal book of photojournalism she edited.
Painting by Francisco Goya, Third Grade
In the third grade at St. Joseph's School in Bound Brook, New Jersey, Ryan was taught art history by one Sister Mary William. William would give her students small reproductions of artworks, which they would then paste into their notebooks. "I remember this vividly, discovering the meaning behind an image," Ryan says. This painting, "Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga," Ryan never forgot. "The light bulb went off and I was in heaven."
Portrait of Patti Smith by Robert Mapplethorpe, 1975
Robert Mapplethorpe's famous portrait of Patti Smith, from the cover of Smith's 1975 album "Horses," made a big impact on Ryan. "When the album came out, I remember being absolutely mesmerized by this portrait," Ryan says. "At the time I thought it was because she was so stylish. Now of course I realize that Mapplethorpe was part of the power of this image."
42nd Street and Eighth Avenue by Lars Tunbjörk, 1997
This photograph appeared in a 1997 issue of The New York Times Magazine that was devoted to the transformation of Times Square. "The idea was to document Times Square on the cusp of massive change," Ryan says. "It was just starting to change from the seedy Times Square to the Disneyfied Times Square." For this issue, Ryan commissioned images from a wide range of photographers. This one, by the Swedish photographer Lars Tunbjörk, stayed with her. "It's everything in one photo," Ryan says. "It's a pure document, and yet it's almost like a Mondrian painting, all the planes of color. I love how he took the most banal elements and elevated them with his trained eye."
Portrait of M.I.A. by Ryan McGinley, 2010
This portrait of M.I.A. appeared in a 2010 issue of The New York Times Magazine. "I love the spirit of this picture," Ryan says. "It's thrilling that at this magazine we can make a wonderful, creative event of a portrait session. I love that the photographer took the incredible joy you feel when you look at the New York skyline and married it to the creative energy of M.I.A."