A Guide to the John Dominis Photographic Archive, 1952-2005

Biographical Note

John Dominis was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 27, 1921, to Paul and Mamie Ostoja Dominis, immigrants from Croatia. He attended Fremont High School, took up surfing, and studied photography with Clarence A. Bach, who taught a three-year photography course there that produced dozens of professionals, including eight staff photographers at Life magazine.

Dominis studied cinematography and played football at the University of Southern California before joining the United States Air Force as a combat photographer in 1943. Stationed in Japan until 1946, Dominis stayed in Asia and picked up freelance photo assignments from the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and Life. When he volunteered to cover the Korean War in 1950, Life hired him as full-time staff.

Working for over twenty years at Life, John Dominis created famous shots including Mickey Mantle throwing down his helmet in frustration after striking out at bat and American medal winners Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium at the 1968 Olympics, raising their fists in the Black Power salute as the National Anthem was playing. A skilled and multifaceted photographer, Dominis also covered food, travel, lifestyle, wildlife, cultural and political events, and other celebrities. He was one of few photographers to get close to Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen, and Frank Sinatra. Photo series of the latter two were later published as illustrated books. Ralph Graves, the last editor of the weekly edition of Life, which shut down in 1972, said Mr. Dominis' ability to do it all was his great strength. "I often said, and still say today, that if I had to start a picture magazine with a single photographer, I would choose John Dominis," Graves wrote in his 2010 book The Life I Led.

Dominis went to Woodstock and did freelance work for a number of publications from the 1970s to the early 1990s. In 1975 he became picture editor at People magazine and served in that capacity at Sports Illustrated as well, from 1978 until 1982. He was responsible for the photography for a number of books on Italian cuisine written by Giuliano Bugialli and for The Cats of Africa, published in Life in 1966 and as a book in 1968, among others.

Dominis' first wife, Frances Clausen, died in a car accident in 1974. He later married Life reporter Anne Hollister, with whom he worked on a number of stories for the magazine and spent years of companionship. Evelyn Floret, a sculptor, also shared a long-term relationship with Dominis, and was his companion when he died on December 30, 2013, in New York City, due to complications from a heart attack. He was survived by his children, Dori Dominis Beer of San Francisco, Paul Dominis of Sonoma, California, and Greg Dominis of Benicia, California, and their children.

Sources:

"John Dominis, Life Magazine Photographer" from the East Hampton Star

"John Dominis, Longtime LIFE Photographer, Dies at 92" from Time

"John Dominis" on Wikipedia

"John Dominis, Life magazine photographer, dies at 92" from the Washington Post

"John Dominis, a Star Photographer for Life Magazine, Dies at 92" from the New York Times

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Scope and Contents

The John Dominis Photographic Archive, 1952-2005, contains slides, prints, negatives, contact sheets, and magazine articles documenting the career of Dominis and his professional and personal interests. Scrapbooks and collected photographic materials relate to Dominis' assignments as a Life staff photographer, including such standouts as "Great Dinners", Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Mantle, and "Cats of Africa" in the 1960s, as well as his varied freelance and contract assignments for Time, Inc. and other publications. Subjects which Dominis photographed run a wide range, and include plays and other cultural events, politicians and political occurrences, travel, housing and lifestyle trends, food, nature, and wildlife. Other special projects are documented in the collection, including Dominis' photography for books on foods of Italy written by Giuliano Bugialli.

Furthermore, the collection contains preparatory materials and correspondence for a presentation by Dominis on work of other photographers in the mid 1980s, as well as a collection of personal and family photographs, including many of the photographer himself, that belonged to Anne Hollister.

Archivist's Note:

The majority of the materials were researched, labeled or notated, and pre-organized by John Dominis' friend and colleague, photo editor M. C. Marden (initials on some notes: MCM). Any envelopes or sleeves containing Dominis' handwritten notes have also been kept with the materials.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

A portion of this collection is stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.

All Life material is owned by Time, Inc. and must be cleared for permission before use. Contact repository for more information.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

John Dominis Photographic Archive, 1952-2005, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jessi Fishman, February 2017.

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Detailed Description of the Papers

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