Dave Heath


David Martin "Dave" Heath was an American documentary, humanist and street photographer.
Heath's books include A Dialogue with Solitude. In 2015 a retrospective of his work was hosted by Philadelphia Museum of Art. His work is held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Museum of Modern Art.

Life and work

Heath was born in Philadelphia. He was inspired by Life magazine, most notably the article "Bad Boy's Story: An Unhappy Child Learns to Live at Peace with the World" by Life photographer Ralph Crane in 1947, and the 1946 book Photography is a Language by John R. Whiting. He was a mostly self-taught photographer.
He was drafted in 1952 and served in Korea, taking many photographs there.
On his return he attended Philadelphia Museum College, followed by Philadelphia College of Art during the 1954 to 1955 year and then moved to Chicago to study at the Chicago Institute of Design, in 1955 to 1956.
In 1959 he attended The New School for Social Research in New York City, where he settled. He emigrated to Toronto in 1970.

Publications

Publications by Heath

Solo exhibitions

Heath's work is held in the following permanent collections: