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Draft:Martin J. Dain

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Martin J. Dain (photograph by Charles Harbutt, courtesy of the Dain family)

Martin Joseph Dain (September 20, 1924 - February 16, 2000) was an American photographer whose work most notably included author William Faulkner and the town of Oxford, Mississippi from which Faulkner drew the inspiration for his fictional Yoknapatawpha County.

Biography

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Dain was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 20, 1924 to Max Mendel Dain and Beatrice Trilling Dain, both of Russian Jewish heritage. Dain’s father Max worked as a pharmacist. Dain attended the Edward Devotion School, a part of the Brookline Public School system. In 1936, Dain relocated with his parents to Miami Beach, Florida, where he attended Ida Fisher Junior High School and Miami Beach Senior High School. After the death of his parents, he returned to Boston to live with his older brother Albert T. Dain, and completed his high school education at the Boston Latin School.

Dain’s father enjoyed photography as a hobby, and encouraged his son’s interest. Dain’s first camera was a 1934 Brownie, which he later sold. He subsequently used his father’s Rolleicord camera.[1]

Dain enlisted in the military in 1943 and served as a communications specialist in the Signal Corps during World War II. During his service, he spent time in Hawaii and the Philippine capital of Manila.

Following his honorable discharge from the military in 1946, Dain attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where he studied history and government, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. After graduation he relocated to Paris, France and enrolled at the Sorbonne on the GI Bill. Dain spent much of his time in museums and landed a job with the prestigious Pictorial Service, where he processed pictures for some of Europe’s leading photographers. Dain observed and studied the photography and printing techniques while working in the lab, and credited that experience as being his education in photography. This was also the time when Dain transitioned from his father’s Rolleicord camera to the 35mm cameras that were popular among other professional photographers at the time.[1]

Upon returning to the United States in 1953, Dain settled in New York City and became a successful professional freelance photographer. His photographs were included in many exhibitions[2][3][4][5] and published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times,[6][7] Time Magazine,[8] The Saturday Evening Post,[9] Fortune,[10] Esquire,[11] and others. His photographs appeared in several issues of Photography Annual, a publication of Popular Photography Magazine which featured the year’s best photographs. Dain's work was recognized for photographic excellence in the 1961 exhibition "America's Many Faces," a project of the National Urban League highlighting the multi-racial character of America, chaired by photographer Edward Steichen.[12]

In addition to his well-known photographs of Oxford, Mississippi and William Faulkner, Dain covered an extremely broad array of subjects, including 1950’s Paris, Ernest Hemingway in Pamplona, the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, the 1955 US Equestrian Team,[13] American Indians, construction of the Lincoln Tunnel,[9] celebrities,[14] politicians, and more. His personal interest in classical music led him to become the trusted photographer for dozens of classical composers and musicians, including Leonard Bernstein, Nadia Boulanger, Pablo Casals, Carlos Chavez, Aaron Copland,[8] Andres Segovia,[15] Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky,[6] Heitor Villa-Lobos and others.[16][17][18] His interest in sports cars was evident in his collection of photographs from the 1958 Little Le Mans endurance race at Lime Rock, the 1958 Watkins Glen Grand Prix, and other racing events in Montgomery (NY) and Bridgehampton (NY).[19]

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin includes more than 500 Martin J. Dain prints that were previously part of the Magnum Photos Photography Collection, an archive of gelatin silver press prints from the renowned Magnum Photos agency.[20]

Dain was close friends with journalist, artist and photographer Beryl Bernay and photographer and novelist Jerry Yulsman.

Dain settled in Carmel Valley, California in 1971 where he opened his “Seals & Owls” shop, selling artwork and sculptures from Native American artists.

Dain passed away at the age of 75 on February 16, 2000 in Carmel Valley, California.

William Faulkner Photographs

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Calling William Faulkner "undoubtedly to me the greatest author in this country and maybe the world,” Dain decided to begin the project of capturing the writer’s world on film. Having spent much of his professional career working freelance for various clients, this was an opportunity to pursue a project of his own interest. In August of 1961, Dain made his first trip to Oxford, Mississippi. Dain spent much of his time on that first visit getting acquainted with the courthouse square and the local businesses and residents. He made contact with several people in Faulkner’s sphere, including J. R. Cofield, Jim Silver, and Mac Reed. He returned to Oxford several more times and with the help of Jim Silver and Faulkner’s step-granddaughter Victoria Fielden was ultimately granted access to Faulkner himself for a brief session where he was able to capture the writer in a casual setting at home. On his final visit to Oxford in 1962, Dain attended and photographed, from afar, the funeral of William Faulkner.[1]

The photographs from this project were first published in the book Faulkner's County: Yoknapatawpha in 1964.

The collection of photographs from Dain’s visits to Oxford are now a part of the Martin J. Dain Collection at the University of Mississippi.[21]

Publications

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Title Publisher Publication Date Author
A guide to American Sports Car Racing Hanover House 1960 Martin J. Dain (Photography), William S. Stone (Author)
Faulkner's County: Yoknapatawpha Random House 1964 Martin J. Dain
On the Beat: Policemen at Work Harcourt 1968 Barry Robinson and Martin J. Dain
Faulkner's World: The Photographs of Martin J. Dain University of Mississippi Press 1997 Tom Rankin (Editor)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Dain, Martin J. Faulkner’s World: The Photographs of Martin J. Dain. Edited by Tom Rankin, University Press of Mississippi, 1997.
  2. ^ Deschin, Jacob (January 13, 1957). "Library Gallery: Group Exhibition Covers Work by Seven". The New York Times: A18.
  3. ^ Deschin, Jacob (April 10, 1960). "Exhibits by Five: Two Galleries Display Novel Techniques". The New York Times: ART-11.
  4. ^ Profile of Poverty: An Exhibition of Photographs. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution. May 1965.
  5. ^ Pocock, Philip (1967). "Letter to Martin Dain". Los Angeles, CA: Unpublished letter. Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition.
  6. ^ a b Berger, Arthur (December 20, 1959). "Stravinsky and His Merry Men". New York Times Magazine.
  7. ^ "A Gift From Mrs. Roosevelt". New York Times. September 27, 1959.
  8. ^ a b "Copland at 60". Time Magazine. LXXVI (22): 93. November 21, 1960.
  9. ^ a b Wager, Walter (July 21, 1956). "They Bury Him Twice a Day". The Saturday Evening Post. 229 (3): 20.
  10. ^ Mahoney, Stephen (September 1962). "What Happened at Endicott Johnson After the Band Stopped Playing". Fortune Magazine. 66 (3): 126.
  11. ^ Lawrenson, Helen (November 1, 1957). "The Renaissance Man/1957". Esquire. XLVIII (5): 144.
  12. ^ Steichen, Edward (February 6, 1961). "Letter to Mr. Martin Dain". Los Angeles, CA: Unpublished letter. National Urban League.
  13. ^ "Horse Show Horsemen". The New York Times: 78. October 30, 1955.
  14. ^ "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade papers (Manuscript Collection No. 1432)". Emory Libraries. Emory University. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  15. ^ "Exhibitions". The New York Times: Section 2, X18. April 3, 1960.
  16. ^ "WILLIAM BERGSMA COLLECTION" (PDF). Eastman School of Music. University of Rochester. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  17. ^ "Guide to the Ralph Shapey Papers circa 1930-2003". University of Chicago Library. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  18. ^ "M.J. Dain". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  19. ^ Stone, William S. (1960). A guide to American Sports Car Racing. Hanover House.
  20. ^ https://research.hrc.utexas.edu/photopublic/fullDisplay.cfm?CollID=18052
  21. ^ https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mjdain/

Category:American photojournalists Category:Oxford, Mississippi Category:20th-century American photographers

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