Bill Rauhauser (Facebook photo)
Bill Rauhauser, who remained one of Detroit's most accomplished photographers well into his 90s, and was named the 2014 Kresge Eminent Artist, died on Saturday at age 98.
The Book Beat, an independent Oak Park bookstore, reports the death:
He spent the previous day doing what he loved most: taking photographs in Detroit. After an afternoon working on Belle Isle with his model Cinnamon, Bill met with WDIV television reporters for an interview. Shortly after the meeting, he suffered a stroke and was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital where he fell into a coma and expired the next night at 10 PM. His son Russ was with him.
For decades, Rauhauser was a fixture in the artistic growth of Detroit. His love of photography helped sustain and give meaning to his life—and to those around him. After viewing a major Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition at MoMA in 1947, Rauhauser reawakened his passion for photography and steered his life in that direction. In 1955, his photograph Three on a Bench was selected by Edward Steichen for his blockbuster "Family of Man" photo exhibition.
Rauhauser made contributions in photography beyond his well-known street work.
In 1964, he co-founded the Group Four Gallery in Detroit, one of the nation’s first galleries devoted to photography.
In 1968, he brought photography to the attention of Wallace Wood, then director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, where he cataloged the museum’s early holdings and for many years helped curate photo exhibitions as a volunteer assistant alongside the head of the print department Ellen Sharp—-thus beginning the museum’s engagement with photography that continues today.
Rauhauser’s influence on generations of local photographers made a difference. After an eighteen-year career in architectural engineering, he worked thirty-years as a professor of photography at the College for Creative Studies. From 1970-2000, he instilled his passion and excitement about photography to students, invigorating history by sharing his photograph collection and exposing students first hand to nationally renowned artists.
