Art Shay's life in 2 million (or so) photos
Art Shay
This man is Art Shay and his life  which is now deep into its 95th year  is sprinkled with all sorts of stories of people â famous  infamous and âordinary.â He has these stories in his head alongside images of them (and of many  many places) because he has had a camera in his hands for 80 years and it was his job and his passion to capture life through his lens.
 Photographer Art Shay  will be honored by the American Writers Museum with the installation of a special exhibit   âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay .â (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)  Photographer Art Shay  will be honored by the American Writers Museum with the installation of a special exhibit   âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay .â (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
Erica DeGlopper is here too. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute with degrees in photography and printmaking  she first encountered  Shay  more than a decade ago when she saw  him  interviewed on television.
â He  was so fascinating that I just had to meet  him  â she says. So  she showed up at  his  house and offered to help  him   as she says  put  his  âprevious life in order" by organizing  his  work. She drives to Deerfield a few days a week and some weekends from her home in Wisconsin to continue cataloging more than 2 million of  his  photographs.
DeGlopperâs understanding of and affection for  Shay  are palpable. She is friend  archivist  aide de camp and ardent admirer. âWe have got to keep things going until at least  his  100th birthday â she says. âThatâs when I am hoping we can have a major retrospective of  his  work.â She wants it to be at the Art Institute.
I am at the house  of course  and I have known  Shay  for more than 50 years because  he  and my father were friends and I have written about  him  many times  including a story about the two of us dangerously searching for the apartment where Algren made love to Simone de Beauvoir.
Here also is the photographer Jason Wambsgans  recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for  his  work with a camera  taking photos and video and listening to Artâs stories  some of them about people long gone but others about such contemporary stars as Corgan  with whom  Shay  is collaborating on a yet another project.
We are in split-level Deerfield house where  Shay  has lived for nearly 60 years  and it is a glorious mess of photos  books  racquetball trophies  art work â¦ a panorama of  his  life.
 Art  says that Florence is always on his mind  and when he starts to put those thoughts into words  his eyes fill with tears as he says  âI miss her common sense. I miss her smile.â
He also misses their son Harmon  who vanished  presumably murdered  without a trace at 20 in 1972  in what Art refers to as the âhippie jungles of Miami.â But in addition to Richard   Art  has three accomplished grown children (Jane  an attorney in Los Angeles; Lauren  a photographer also in L.A.; and Steve  a photographer in Seattle). He hopes to see some or all of them soon at two big events taking place this week.
On Thursday  he will be honored by the American Writers Museum (americanwritersmuseum.org)  180 N. Michigan Ave.  with the installation of a special exhibit  âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay.â
This man is Art Shay and his life  which is now deep into its 95th year  is sprinkled with all sorts of stories of people â famous  infamous and âordinary.â He has these stories in his head alongside images of them (and of many  many places) because he has had a camera in his hands for 80 years and it was his job and his passion to capture life through his lens.
  [TGT] will be honored by the American Writers Museum with the installation of a special exhibit   âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay .â (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)   [TGT] will be honored by the American Writers Museum with the installation of a special exhibit   âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay .â (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
Erica DeGlopper is here too. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute with degrees in photography and printmaking  she first encountered  Shay  more than a decade ago when she saw  him  interviewed on television.
â He  was so fascinating that I just had to meet  him  â she says. So  she showed up at  his  house and offered to help  him   as she says  put  his  âprevious life in order" by organizing  his  work. She drives to Deerfield a few days a week and some weekends from her home in Wisconsin to continue cataloging more than 2 million of  his  photographs.
DeGlopperâs understanding of and affection for  Shay  are palpable. She is friend  archivist  aide de camp and ardent admirer. âWe have got to keep things going until at least  his  100th birthday â she says. âThatâs when I am hoping we can have a major retrospective of  his  work.â She wants it to be at the Art Institute.
I am at the house  of course  and I have known  Shay  for more than 50 years because  he  and my father were friends and I have written about  him  many times  including a story about the two of us dangerously searching for the apartment where Algren made love to Simone de Beauvoir.
Here also is the photographer Jason Wambsgans  recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for  his  work with a camera  taking photos and video and listening to Artâs stories  some of them about people long gone but others about such contemporary stars as Corgan  with whom  Shay  is collaborating on a yet another project.
We are in split-level Deerfield house where  Shay  has lived for nearly 60 years  and it is a glorious mess of photos  books  racquetball trophies  art work â¦ a panorama of  his  life.
 Art  says that Florence is always on his mind  and when he starts to put those thoughts into words  his eyes fill with tears as he says  âI miss her common sense. I miss her smile.â
He also misses their son Harmon  who vanished  presumably murdered  without a trace at 20 in 1972  in what Art refers to as the âhippie jungles of Miami.â But in addition to Richard   Art  has three accomplished grown children (Jane  an attorney in Los Angeles; Lauren  a photographer also in L.A.; and Steve  a photographer in Seattle). He hopes to see some or all of them soon at two big events taking place this week.
On Thursday  he will be honored by the American Writers Museum (americanwritersmuseum.org)  180 N. Michigan Ave.  with the installation of a special exhibit  âCaptured Stories: American Writers Through the Lens of Art Shay.â