Jerry Burchard

Jerry Burchard
Born
Gerald Burchard

(1931-12-01)December 1, 1931
DiedMay 17, 2011(2011-05-17) (aged 79)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationCalifornia School of Fine Arts
OccupationsPhotographer, educator, curator

Gerald "Jerry" Burchard (December 1, 1931 – May 17, 2011)[1][2] was an American photographer, educator, and curator. He was a professor emeritus at San Francisco Art Institute.

Life and career

Gerald "Jerry" Burchard was born on December 1, 1931, in Rochester, New York.[3] From 1950 to 1952, he worked for Kodak, the photographic and film company.[2] Burchard was enlisted in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1956, as a photographers mate and during this time he did photography for NATO in Naples, Italy.[2][3] His photo work was influenced by photojournalist Dorothea Lang.[2]

He attended the California School of Fine Arts (later part of San Francisco Art Institute) from 1956 to 1960, in order to study under Lang.[2] While a student and documenting the era, Burchard took many portraits of San Francisco artists in the Rat Bastard Protective Association (RBPA), such as Bruce Conner, Joan Brown, Jay DeFeo, Carlos Villa, Wally Hedrick, Manuel Neri, and Art Grant.[2][4][5]

In 1961, his photograph was removed from the Boston Arts Festival at the American Legion, for 'insulting' the American flag.[6][7] Burchard started teaching at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1966, and by 1969 he was the chair of the undergraduate photo department.[2][3]

Collections

Burchard's work can be found in museum collections, including at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.;[8] the Art Institute of Chicago;[9] the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California;[10] Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis;[11] the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York;[12] Princeton Art Museum in New Jersey;[13] the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City;[14] the Stanford University Libraries;[15] and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.[16]

Exhibitions

References

  1. ^ "Jerry Burchard". San Francisco Chronicle (obituary). May 18, 2011. p. 22. Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Aukeman, Anastasia (August 9, 2016). Welcome to Painterland: Bruce Conner and the Rat Bastard Protective Association. University of California Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0-520-28945-1 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Nash, Steven A.; Berkson, Bill (January 1, 1995). Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area. University of California Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-520-20363-1.
  4. ^ Yau, John (May 14, 2017). "A Celebration of the Rat Bastards: Joan Brown, Bruce Conner, Jean Conner, Jay DeFeo, George Herms, Wally Hedrick, and Others". Hyperallergic. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Stephen (December 8, 1995). "Obituary: Art Grant". SFGate. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  6. ^ "Banned in Boston". San Francisco Examiner. June 17, 1961. p. 1. Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Picture 'Insults' Flag". San Francisco Examiner. June 17, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Jerry Burchard". Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  9. ^ "Jerry Burchard". The Art Institute of Chicago. 1931. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  10. ^ "Jerry Burchard". Norton Simon Museum. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  11. ^ "Ping Yuen, 1979, Jerry Burchard". Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  12. ^ "Jerry Burchard, American (New York: Rochester), born 1931". Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Vassar College. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  13. ^ "New California Views". Princeton Art Museum. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  14. ^ "Landweber/Artists - New California Views". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  15. ^ "Author: Burchard, Jerry, 1931–2011". Stanford University Libraries. Stanford University. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  16. ^ "Burchard, Jerry". SFMOMA. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  17. ^ Cullinan, Helen (February 22, 1985). "Polaroid instant art on view". The Plain Dealer. p. 74. Retrieved February 27, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.