"It is with a broken heart that we confirm to you the death of Peter Beard. He died where he lived: in nature." Known for his wildlife and social shots, the American photographer was found dead on Sunday April 19, his family announced on Monday. Last seen on March 31, the American photographer had been missing for two weeks since he left his home in Montauk, New York, in the United States. On Sunday, his body was found lifeless in a wood in Camp Hero State Park, near Montauk. He was 82 years old and had senile dementia.
An unusual death for a man who was not. "Peter was an extraordinary man who led an exceptional life," wrote his family. This extraordinary character has long sailed between two worlds, geographically and culturally opposite: on one side African nature and on the other, the social evenings of artistic elites in Europe and the United States. Two worlds that marked his artistic inspiration.
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The Edge of the World, Uganda, 1966 One of the images from the limited edition Elephant Portfolio, that was donated to Oceana in support of their incredible work on ocean conservation. Dr. Richard Laws a friend of mine, Director, British Antarctic Survey and Former Director, Tsavo Research Project, Kenya wrote this for the Epilogue of the 1977 edition of The End of the Game. “Although the elephant, the whale and homo sapiens appear to be very different from one another, these three wide-ranging species share fundamental characteristics. They are all long-lived. Their longevity of 60-70 years accounts for their having not only similar demographic structures, but also an extended period of childhood, in which the individuals have time to form lasting, closely knit families. Elephant social organization has recently been shown to be remarkably similar to that of man; in fact, the entire ecology of the elephant is now seen to be more similar to that of man than to any other animal. It is therefore not remarkable that man and the elephant are having to face similar and simultaneous crises --- like survival. ” @oceana founded in 2001, is the largest international advocacy organization focused solely on ocean conservation. Oceana's work has yielded immeasurable results to regulate the damaging effects of climate change through science. Additionally, Oceana is actively working to combat the plague of ocean plastic pollution. #ecology #elephant #conservation #oceana #oceananygala #biodiversity #oceans #whales #saveouroceans #Africa #Uganda #biology #nature #environment # oceanconservation #drrichardlaws #atlanticsurvey @susanrockefeller
A post shared by Peter Beard (@peterbeardart) on Sep 6, 2019 at 1:08 pm PDT
He became known for his photos of the savannah where he surprised animals in action or decaying. Settled in Kenya where he had a house, the photographer had documented the persecutions targeting elephants, as well as the rhinos.
But he also marked photography for his portraits of sculptural women, chest in the air, or his fashion photos no less memorable, such as these image of half-naked models posing with a rhino tied up or feeding giraffes at night. "The last thing that remains of nature is the beauty of women," he said in 1997 to the British daily The Observer.
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Homage - Into the wild, sketchbooks by Peter Beard (1938-2020) #peterbeard #wildlife #wildlifephotography #fashion #taschenbooks #actessud #galeriekamelmennour #photography #photographer
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"He was not afraid of anything, had a crazy charm and seduced all women"
To those who knew him, he leaves the memory of a very handsome man, elegant, eccentric, seductive, crunch of women and adventures. "He braved all the required authorizations and entered wherever he wanted, especially in places prohibited from entry. He was afraid of nothing, had a crazy charm and seduced all women", recalls Anne Clergue, Lucien's daughter Clergue, founder of the Arles meetings, who pays him a final tribute in The Eye of Photography.
Danger never frightened him. In Arles, in his twenties, he jumps into the bullfight arena to take pictures of the bulls with "a passion that he has never lost", according to Anne Clergue. An energy with which he has photographed wild animals all his life, even if it means putting himself in danger. In 1996, he was knocked down by an elephant in Tanzania. The animal crushes his thigh and smashes his pelvis. "For the fuck, it's over," he said.
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Andy Warhol in his Montauk beach house (c. 1972) photo and beautiful collage by Peter Beard @peterbeardart * My favorite part is the 'Warhol' spelled out of Marlboro *. . . . . #andywarhol #peterbeard #warhol #warhola #montauk #andywarholart #andywarholmuseum #andywarholfoundation #art #artist #arthistory #popart #modernart #americanart #warholrevisited #newyork #warholwednesday
A post shared by Andy Warhol (@aaandygrams) on Jan 22, 2020 at 1:41 pm PST
Very early on, he spawned with the European artistic community. Peter Beard befriends several renowned artists like Salvador Dali, with whom he collaborates, or Francis Bacon, with whom he remains linked all his life. In the 1960s, between two trips to Africa, he rocked the New York party with Andy Warhol or Truman Capote. Then he dived into the world of show business and in 1972 documented the Rolling Stones tour, "Exile On Main Street" for the magazine Rolling Stones. But whoever has been partying until the end of his life has always kept his distance: "Evenings in town are very relaxing for me, because I am not part of this world. Besides, who would really want to be part of it? "he said.
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Dearest 🦒 PETER BEARD 🐘 you will be always remembered 🦛 too handsome 🦒 too talented🐘 too much ❤️
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A controversial ecological vision of Africa
His world is rather to look for on the side of Africa, continent which he discovers at his 17 years when he leaves Queens for South Africa. In the early 1960s, Peter Beard worked in Tsavo National Park in Kenya, when he photographed and documented (illegally) the deaths of 35,000 elephants and 5,000 black rhinos. In 1965, he published his opus "The End of the Game" ("La fin d'un monde", in French). In text and photos, he describes - already at the time - a cornered continent, which sees its wild species decline, notably the elephants.
"The more man went to Africa, the faster life left the continent, off the plains, outside the bush ... until it disappeared in masses of trophies, skins and carcasses", explains there. Peter Beard.
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Encanta observar me sua Arte, ela estava presents em muitos lugares that frequentei em NY. Semper me fez “viajar” e pensar no mundo incrível, intenso e selvagem que fazemos parte! 🦒🦓🐅🐊🖤 #exciting #art #rip #peterbeard #cariocadna
A post shared by Carioca DNA (@cariocadna) on Apr 21, 2020 at 6:03 am PDT
In his book, he highlights the destruction of ecosystems and denounces the action of Western civilization on local balances. According to him, the model of preservation of elephants - confined in protected parks where indigenous hunters were prohibited - launched in Kenya in the early 1960s, would have led tens of thousands of animals to starvation. An ecological vision still controversial today.
"The destruction of Africa is taking place"
Peter Beard said he was close to Africans, but he was far from a romantic speech or a humanitarian vision. The hard-skinned man: "Sentimentalism has no connection with Africa. Wild life has been sentimentalized by dishonest donors, like Walt Disney", he said in 1996 to Liberation, his great Parisian exhibition at the National Center for Photography.
In this vast exhibition, he presents his images and his notebooks on a battered continent: "We always said that a territory like Africa was impossible to destroy. But the destruction takes place, and at a speed that you do not imagine! " To dramatize his representation of an Africa at the edge of the abyss, he did not hesitate to rework his images in Indian ink or to frame them with his own blood.
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#pamphlet #peterbeard #photographer #rip #francisbacon #portrait #painting
A post shared by PAMPHLET (@p_a_m_p_h_l_e_t) on Apr 21, 2020 at 5:17 am PDT
His great friend Francis Bacon, who painted around thirty portraits of the photographer, considered that his strongest photos were "those of decomposing elephants, on which the carcasses are gradually transformed into grandiose sculptures, which beyond simple abstract shapes bear the imprint of vanity and the tragedy of life. " Vanity and tragic, just words to sum up this extraordinary destiny.
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