Eugene Omar Goldbeck

(San Antonio, Texas, 1892 - 1986, San Antonio, Texas)

American

Throughout a prolific career spanning nearly 85 years, Eugene O. Goldbeck traveled the world taking panoramic photographs. His interest in photography blossomed when, in 1901, he snapped a picture of President William McKinley during an election victory parade. While in high school Goldbeck worked as a freelance photographer for local newspapers, and traveled to South America, Alaska, and the Western United States following his graduation. The young artist funded his travels by taking commitment-free portraits and later selling his subjects the prints. During this time Goldbeck purchased his first Cirkut camera, which sat atop a revolving tripod and produced long, narrow negatives.

Goldbeck served in the Photographic Division of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps during World War I, and taught at the Signal Corps School of Photography at Columbia University in New York. Dubbed the “unofficial photographer of America’s military,” Goldbeck enjoyed a lucrative career taking group pictures of members of the armed forces. He conducted recurring tours of major United States military bases throughout the world until demand for the photographs declined after World War II. Goldbeck is best known for a 1947 group shot of 21,765 men arranged in the Air Force insignia at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, an image that appeared in Life magazine. In 1921 he founded the National Photo Service, the only independent news photography company based in Texas. Goldbeck’s staff captured group and event photographs and motion pictures in the field.

The artist traveled for pleasure into his 80s, returning to many sites he had previously photographed in black-and-white to shoot in color. After discovering some of the contents of his archives had deteriorated in storage, Goldbeck donated 60,000 negatives and 10,000 vintage photographs to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas. Goldbeck’s photography is in the collection of many notable institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Canada and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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