Archie Lieberman, 1926-2008

Renowned photographer Archie Lieberman, visiting artist and lecturer in art at Knox College, died March 13, 2008 at the Dubuque Nursing and Rehab Center in Dubuque, Iowa. He was 81. Lieberman first visited Knox for a retrospective show of his work in 1993. He taught photography at Knox in the fall of 1998, made all of the photographs for the 1998 Knox College Engagement Calendar, and gave several lectures on campus, most recently in 2006.

Lieberman was born and raised in Chicago and attended the Chicago Institute of Design and the Art Institute of Chicago. During World War II he served as Marine combat photographer in the Pacific. He was a photojournalist for magazines, including Time, Life, Fortune, Paris-Match, Collier's, Holiday, London Illustrated and, from 1952 to 1972, for Look Magazine. He also fulfilled assignments for advertising agencies and corporations, including Lands' End, which sponsored the exhibit of his work at Knox.

Lieberman wrote or photographed more than 20 books, including "Mummies of Guanajuato," a collaboration with famed author Ray Bradbury. In "Neighbors," Lieberman documented the everyday lives of the people of Jo Daviess County in northwestern Illinois, where he lived for the past 25 years. "Farm Boy," a rare collection of photographs that follows one family that lived near Lieberman, has long been on display in the Knox College President's conference room in Old Main. Lieberman's work also is memorialized at the website www.archielieberman.com.

Lieberman received photojournalism awards from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the Friends of Literature, the Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Dubuque.

Lieberman is survived by his wife, Esther, two sons, Eric and Robert both of Chicago, grandsons Noah and Taylor and wife Ursula, a brother Bernard and wife Buzzie, four great-granddaughters, many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son Kurt and grandson Seth.

A funeral service was held March 17 at the Shalom Memorial Funeral Home in Arlington Heights, with burial in the Shalom Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Dubuque, 2255 JFK Road, Dubuque, Iowa, 52002.

Archie Lieberman at Knox in 1998. Photo by Kean Huat Yeap '99