William Albert Allard

Son of a Swedish immigrant, photographer and writer William Albert Allard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts and the University of Minnesota. Starting in 1964, Allard, a former Magnum photographer, contributed to National Geographic magazine for 50 years, longer than any other single contributor. A pioneer of color documentary photography and a superb portraitist, Allard was credited early in his career with changing the look of...See more

Son of a Swedish immigrant, photographer and writer William Albert Allard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts and the University of Minnesota. Starting in 1964, Allard, a former Magnum photographer, contributed to National Geographic magazine for 50 years, longer than any other single contributor. A pioneer of color documentary photography and a superb portraitist, Allard was credited early in his career with changing the look of National Geographic through his intimate work on the American subcultures of the Amish of Pennsylvania and the Hutterites of Montana. Allard has previously published six critically acclaimed books. His first, Vanishing Breed , photographs and writing about the American cowboy, published in 1981, was nominated for The American Book Award. Allard lives with his wife and two dogs in Earlysville, Virginia. See less