{{Short description|American photojournalist}} '''Bob Gomel''' (born August 14, 1933)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Champ, The Beatles and a Tearful Girl: The Photography of Bob Gomel - 2021-08-28 - Press - News |url=https://www.monroegallery.com/news/press/the-champ-the-beatles-and-a-tearful-girl-the-photography-of-bob-gomel |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.monroegallery.com}}</ref> is an American photojournalist who created images of 1960s world leaders, athletes, entertainers, and major events. His photographs have appeared on the covers of ''Life'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ''Newsweek'', ''Fortune'', and ''Forbes'', and in ''Time'', ''The New York Times'', and ''Stern'', and in more than 40 books.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-6997-thats-life.html|title=Acclaimed photographer Bob Gomel looks back|website=www.sfreporter.com|language=en-US|accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://monroegallery.blogspot.com/2015/07/bob-gomel-shares-never-before-seen.html|title=Monroe Gallery of Photography: Bob Gomel shares never-before-seen pictures of The Beatles|last=Monroe|first=Sid Michelle|date=2015-07-08|website=Monroe Gallery of Photography|accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9634830.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326002321/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9634830.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2016|title=Multiple Exposures: Life Photographer Bob Gomel Looks Back at the 1960s in Houston Exhibition|website=PRWeb|accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref> Gomel's images are held in the collections of the U.S. Library of Congress and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
==Early life, education and family== Born in New York, Gomel earned a journalism degree from New York University in 1955 and then served as a U.S. naval aviator stationed in Japan from 1955 to 1958.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
The father of three sons, Gomel resides in Houston with his wife, Sandra.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Bob Gomel has been a witness and participant in it all, albeit with a front row seat to history and the perspicacity of a seasoned observer." - 2020-12-18 - Press - News |url=https://www.monroegallery.com/news/press/bob-gomel-has-been-a-witness-and-participant-in-it-all-albeit-with-a-front-row-seat-to-history-and-the-perspicacity-of-a-seasoned-observer |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=www.monroegallery.com}}</ref>
== ''Life'' years ==
As a ''Life'' magazine photographer from January 1959 through June 1969, Gomel's coverage included John F. Kennedy,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2012/09/11/37942/unpublished-jfk-photos-houston-remembers-president-kennedys-1962-moon-speech-at-rice-stadium/|title=Unpublished JFK Photos: Houston Remembers President Kennedy's 1962 'Moon Speech' At Rice Stadium {{!}} Houston Public Media|last=Feibel|first=Carrie|website=Houston Public Media|date=11 September 2012 |accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref> the Beatles,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3935825/the-beatles-miami-1964/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709023751/http://time.com/3935825/the-beatles-miami-1964/|url-status=live|archive-date=July 9, 2015|title=See Unpublished Life Photos of the Beatles on the Brink of Beatlemania|last=Ronk|first=Liz|magazine=Time|access-date=2016-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/photographer-unveils-rare-beatles-pictures/|title=Photographer unveils rare Beatles pictures|publisher=CBS News |accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.khou.com/videos/entertainment/music/2015/07/07/houston-photographer-shares-neverbeforeseen-pictures-of-the-beatles/29848749/|title=Houston photographer shares never-before-seen pictures of The Beatles|website=KHOU|accessdate=2016-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/12/08/john-lennon-35-year-anniversary-of-his-death-explore-35-photos/76985158/|title=35 years after John Lennon's death, revisit 35 classic photos|website=USA Today |access-date=2016-03-27}}</ref> and Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z83nfg8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326140619/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z83nfg8|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2015|title=Should sport and politics ever mix?|website=BBC Guides|access-date=2016-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/21/malcolm-x-killed-50-anniversary-work-lives-on|title=Malcolm X was killed half a century ago, but his work lives on in us today|last1=Giovanni|first1=Nikki|date=2015-02-21|last2=Ali|first2=Zaheer|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|last3=Boyd|first3=Herb|last4=Shocklee|first4=Hank|last5=Thrasher|first5=Steven W.|access-date=2016-03-27}}</ref> and Arnold Palmer. Gomel's major-event coverage included the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the 1963 March on Washington, the 1963 funeral of President Kennedy,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/pictures-that-defined-american-history|title=30 Powerful Pictures That Defined American History|website=BuzzFeed News}}</ref><ref name="gettyimages">{{Cite web|url=http://infocus.gettyimages.com/post/bob-gomel-my-historic-image#.VvfZccdLt2c|title=Bob Gomel: My historic image {{!}} InFocus|website=infocus.gettyimages.com|access-date=2016-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325154102/http://infocus.gettyimages.com/post/bob-gomel-my-historic-image#.VvfZccdLt2c|archive-date=2016-03-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> the 1964 Democratic National Convention, the 1965 Northeast blackout, the 1968 funeral of Sen. Robert Kennedy, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the 1968 Republican National Convention, the 1969 funeral of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, United Nations debates, and the baseball World Series. In 1964, the University of Missouri School of Journalism honored Gomel with the best news photo of the year.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVMEAAAAMBAJ|title=Life |date=1965-05-07|publisher=Time Inc|language=en}}</ref> The photo reflected the passion in the keynote speech of Sen. John O. Pastore at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
Gomel's 1965 photograph of the blackout-darkened New York City skyline in moonlight is believed to be the first double-exposure image published as a news photograph.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} In 1966, editors selected Gomel's "Kayaker in White Water" for inclusion in ''Life''{{'s}} Best of Year issue. In 1967, Gomel's ''Life'' photo essay on strip-mining in Appalachia helped lead to regulatory reform.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} Gomel's 1969 ''Life'' cover shot of President Eisenhower lying in state was the first news photograph taken from the dome of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. His camera was fired remotely by wire to a foot switch hundreds of feet below the dome.<ref name="gettyimages"/>
==After ''Life''==
From the 1970s through the 1990s, Gomel shifted his focus to commercial photography, and he moved to Houston in 1977. He shot national advertising campaigns throughout the world for Audi, Bulova, GTE, Merrill Lynch ("Bullish on America"), Pan Am Airways, Pennzoil, Shell Oil, the U.S. Army, and Volkswagen, and professional services companies, such as law firms and medical practices.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
In 2010, Gomel's photograph, "Malcolm X Photographing Muhammad Ali", was acquired by the Library of Congress.<ref name="loc">{{cite web | url = https://www.loc.gov/item/2010648724/| title =Photos, Prints, Drawings: Black Muslim leader Malcolm X photographing Cassius Clay surrounded by fans after he beat Sonny Liston for the heavy weight championship, Miami, February, 1964 | last = | first = | date = | website =Library of Congress | publisher = | access-date =July 22, 2016 | quote =Purchase; Monroe Gallery of Photography; 2010}}</ref> In 2016, Gomel donated his photography archives to the University of Texas Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.<ref name="txarchives.org">{{cite web |url=https://txarchives.org/utcah/finding_aids/04010.xml |title=Robert Gomel Photographic Archive, 1959–2014 |website=Texas Archival Resources Online |publisher=Briscoe Center for American History |access-date=March 14, 2026 }}</ref>
In recent years, Gomel has made international travel photography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chron.com/homes/senior_living-/article/Renowned-photographer-Bob-Gomel-captured-1960s-6089806.php#photo-7546549|title=Renowned photographer Bob Gomel captured 1960s from a catbird seat|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2016-03-27}}</ref> In 2020, he was featured in ''Bob Gomel: Eyewitness,'' a documentary directed by David Scarbrough.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bob Gomel: Eyewitness {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bob_gomel_eyewitness |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, on the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's "moon-shot" speech at Rice University, his photography from the speech and other moments in early-1960s space program history was displayed in NASA Johnson Space Center and Rice University commemorative events.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://naturalsciences.rice.edu/moon-and-mars|title=From Rice to the Moon and Mars|website=Wiess School of Natural Sciences | Rice University}}</ref> In 2024, the City of Houston proclaimed April 23 as "Bob Gomel Day", recognizing Gomel for dedicating "eight decades to the advancement of American photojournalism and imagery of world cultures."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://houstontx.new.swagit.com/videos/303488|title=Apr 23, 2024 Council Meeting (April 23, 2024 & April 24, 2024) - Houston, TX|website=houstontx.new.swagit.com}}</ref>
==Publications==
*''The Fight''. Norman Mailer. 1975 and 2013, Random House. {{ISBN|9780812986129}}. *''The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History''. Steven Kasher. 1996, Abbeville. {{ISBN|9780789206565}}. *''Life Sixty Years: A 60th Anniversary Celebration''. 1996, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9781883013608}}. *''Life Goes to the Movies''. David Edward Scherman. 1975, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9780809416431}}. *''Art Buchwald: Leaving Home, a Memoir''. 1994, Putnam Adult. {{ISBN|9780786201587}}. *''The Beatles: From Yesterday to Today''. Charles Hirshberg. 1996, Bullfinch; Time Life. {{ISBN|9780821223178}}. *''Life: Century of Change: America in Pictures''. Richard B. Stolley. 2000, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9780821226971}}. *''Mafia''. The Editors of Time-Life Books. 2003, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9781844471034}}. *''Arnold Palmer: A Personal Journey''. Thomas Houser. 2004, HarperCollins. {{ISBN|9781938069499}}. *''These Guys are Good: They Live to Play, They Play to Win: the Spirit and Drama of the PGA TOUR''. 2005, Tehabi Sports. {{ISBN|9781933208008}}. *''Building New York: The Rise and Rise of the Greatest City on Earth''. Bruce Marshall. 2005, Universe. {{ISBN|9780789313621}}. *''Memories of John Lennon''. Edited by Yoko Ono. 2005, HarperCollins) *''The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography''. Cynthia Goodman. 2009, Ruder-Finn. {{ISBN|9781932646504}}. *''2010–2011 Rules of Golf''. United States Golf Association. 2009. {{ISBN|9780941774109}}. *''Moonfire, The Epic Journey of Apollo 11''. Norman Mailer. 2010, Taschen. {{ISBN|9783836556224}}. *''Life 75 Years: The Very Best of Life''. 2011, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9781603202121}}. *''Life Books: The Day Kennedy Died''. 2013, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9781618930743}}. *''Five Days in November''. Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin. 2013, Gallery, a Division of Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|9781476731490}}. *''JFK: Superman Comes to the Supermarket''. Norman Mailer and Nina Weiner. 2014, Taschen. {{ISBN|9783836550338}}. *''The 1960s: The Decade When Everything Changed''. 2014, Time-Life. *''Life Books: Lincoln: An Intimate Portrait''. The Editors of Life. 2014, Time-Life. {{ISBN|9781618930729}}. *''Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X''. 2016, Basic. {{ISBN|9780465079704}}.
==Collections== Gomel's work is held in the following permanent collections: *Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin: "Ranging in date from 1959 to 2014, the Bob Gomel Photographic Archive consists of film negatives, contact sheets and exhibit prints"<ref name="txarchives.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gomel, Robert, photographic archive {{!}} Briscoe Center Digital Collections |url=https://digitalcollections.briscoecenter.org/collection/932 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=digitalcollections.briscoecenter.org}}</ref> *Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.<ref name="loc"/> *Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: 8 prints (as of 30 April 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Works {{!}} Bob Gomel {{!}} People {{!}} The MFAH Collections |url=https://emuseum.mfah.org/people/13955/bob-gomel/objects |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=emuseum.mfah.org}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.monroegallery.com/gallery/artists/gomel Gomel at Monroe Gallery]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomel, Bob}} Category:American photojournalists Category:1933 births Category:New York University alumni Category:Living people