Errol Sawyer
Building Westside Manhattan, New York, 2016.
About:
Born in Florida in 1943, Sawyer grew up in the Bronx and Harlem. He decided in 1969, after traveling in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, to become a professional photographer. In 1971, Sawyer moved to Europe—first to London and then Paris—where he became a fashion photographer, working for Elle, Dépêche Mode, French Vogue and other magazines. In 1978, he returned to New York and worked for American Vogue, Essence, New York Magazine and other publications before relocating back to Europe.
Mural Punk Empire State Building, 2016.
Constantly drawn to the real world outside the studio, Sawyer’s creative impulses found their most artistically satisfying expression in his street photography—portraits, wall graffiti, torn posters and semi-abstract “found objects.”
Relexion Mikli Glasses, 2016.
Tram Window Amsterdam, 2015.
Sawyer is now based in Amsterdam where he continues to take pictures on a daily basis, developing and printing his mainly black and white photographs in his darkroom. From 2006 to 2010 he was a guest professor of photography at the Technical University Delft, Holland. His photographs have been acquired by France’s Bibliothéque Nationale, Le Musée Francais de la Photographie, London’s Tate Gallery, the New York Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and other museums. (quotes from article by Richard Phillips on World Socialist Website, 1 December 2014).
