Murray
Weiss
Murray Weiss
Born in Brooklyn, New York February 20, 1926, passed away suddenly in the hospital on February 10, 2016. He is survived by his loving wife, Teri; daughters Debra, Jamie and Joy; son in laws, Leo and Keith; and his grandchildren, Sophia, Alexander, Sara and Paul; and brother, Milton Weiss
Murray was a photographer and teacher who was greatly esteemed by his many students and colleagues for more than 60 years. After working in New York, and at the Philadelphia College of Art, he was instrumental in bringing fine art photography to the Milwaukee area as a teacher at Layton School of Art and was the founder of the Milwaukee Center for Photography.
An enthusiastic political activist, he expanded the awareness of those he came in contact with. Murray lived his life according to the words of his beloved friend and mentor, Ralph Steiner, “In spite of everything, yes.”
To see Murray’s photography and more about his life please visit his website:
www.murrayweissphotography.com
Great man and friend. Wonderful photographer.
remembering alwaus, Ralph Andrae
I didn’t know Murray had died and i must of last spoke with him, over the phone, not long before he passed. And that was many decades after we had previously communicated. He put me up on my drive across country, 1972 I think, after he had first moved to Milwaukee. At Christmastime 1970 Murray was at my home in NJ when my mother Catherine Collins announced she would go to Vietnam – the war was raging – to write about the plight of children there. She asked me if I’d go to help her and I agreed to. Murray, always alert to the possibilities, said, “you should photograph what you see. I’ll help get you started. It’s not that hard.” He got me started using my deceased father’s 35mm slr, and jump started me on basic B&W darkroom practice. Six months later i came back with an archive of prints that got minor circulation in shows, and in congressional lobbying. In subsequent years i became a medical doctor, and later a development worker, but again and again photography came along with me as documentarian and as advocate. And that was consistently Murray’s voice on my shoulder.