Age, Biography and Wiki

Jon Naar was born on 5 May, 1920 in London, England, is an American photographer. Discover Jon Naar's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 97 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation Photographer, author
Age 97 years old
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Born 5 May 1920
Birthday 5 May
Birthplace London, England
Date of death 30 November, 2017
Died Place Maryland, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 5 May. He is a member of famous photographer with the age 97 years old group.

Jon Naar Height, Weight & Measurements

At 97 years old, Jon Naar height not available right now. We will update Jon Naar's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
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Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

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Jon Naar Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Jon Naar worth at the age of 97 years old? Jon Naar’s income source is mostly from being a successful photographer. He is from United States. We have estimated Jon Naar's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income photographer

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Timeline

1920

Jon Naar (May 5, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an English-American author and photographer celebrated for his pioneering images of New York City graffiti in the 1970s, and for portraits of Andy Warhol and other celebrities, including the British Prime Minister.

Active through his late nineties, Naar had a multifaceted career as an intelligence officer in World War II; a globe-trotting marketing executive during the postwar years; and an environmentalist, with 12 published books to his credit.

Born in London in 1920, Naar graduated at 15 from the private Mill Hill School.

Too young to attend an English university, he crossed the Channel to study French at the Sorbonne, and German at the University of Vienna.

At this point, Naar had yet to develop a special interest in photography, but his artistic and design sensibilities were being shaped by his Parisian influences, particularly the street photographs of Brassaï.

Four years later, his matriculation at the University of London cut short by the outbreak of World War II, Naar was conscripted.

Thanks to prior experience in the Officers' Training Corps at Mill Hill, he would spend the next six years on intelligence work, including service with the British Special Operations Executive, on clandestine assignments that took him through the Middle East and Italy.

At war's end, by-then Major Naar emigrated to New York City and secured American citizenship.

Over the next decade and a half, Naar worked as a medical science writer and editor in the Public Interest department of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, then for five years as managing editor of the World Wide Medical News service, a division of the ethical pharmaceutical advertising agency William Douglas McAdams.

1950

Through the 1950s, armed with a Super Ikonta rangefinder camera and later a Praktica single-lens reflex, Naar had been developing his eye as a "weekend" photographer, roving his Greenwich Village neighborhood and seeking out subject matter while on foreign corporate assignments.

It was not until influential photographers Nickolas Muray and André Kertész—both impressed by his hobbyist portfolio—offered encouragement, that he resolved to seek wider exposure as a photographer.

1957

From 1957, he directed international marketing for Pharmacraft Laboratories, a division of Joseph E. Seagram Corporation.

1962

A series of street scenes Naar shot in Mexico City in 1962 was featured in a 1963 solo exhibition in Coyoacan titled "El Ojo de un Estranjero."

His 23-page photo essay on Germany, 20 years after the death of Adolf Hitler, appeared in the Italian design magazine Domus.

1964

In 1964, after a year in Munich as general manager of the American-French cosmetic company Germaine Monteil, he launched his career as a professional photographer.

1965

New York Times critic Joseph Deschin, reviewing Naar's 1965 one-man show at New York University's Loeb Student Center, extolled his "flair for design and an eye for the unexpected ... his pictures generate the kind of excitement that one associates with discovery of newness in the familiar."

The striking image "Shadows of Children on Swings" was selected by Ivan Dmitri for the Metropolitan Museum's "Photography in the Fine Arts" exhibition, and for its permanent collection.

Within the span of a few years, Naar had not only transformed himself into a professional photographer, but was in demand as a contributor to major publications like The New York Times, The Saturday Evening Post, Vogue, Fortune, Elle, and Schöner Wohnen.

If Naar had a speciality at that time, it was photographing artists and architects amidst their creative (and created) surroundings.

One of his earliest and most enduring images featured a young Andy Warhol sprawled on a red plush sofa, surrounded by glistening objects in the infamous "Silver Factory." Other subjects over the years included Luis Barragán, Marcel Breuer, Christo, Alexander Liberman, Heinz Mack, Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Barnett Newman, Saul Steinberg, and Günther Uecker.

His portrait of Josef Albers accompanied that artist's obituary in the New York Times.

1970

By the 1970s, Naar's reputation was well established and he was redirecting his energies toward on-location corporate work for a diverse range of clients.

1972

Then in 1972, a commission for the London-based design firm Pentagram morphed into a full-length book project, with the 1974 release of The Faith of Graffiti (UK title Watching My Name Go By)—the first book-length examination of New York City graffiti art.

Featuring an introduction by novelist Norman Mailer, the controversial collection would become "like a bible to later graffiti artists," in the words of Brian Wallis, chief curator at New York's International Center of Photography.

Naar "legitimized" graffiti "a decade earlier than anyone else, and he came at it with a graphic design sensibility—he understood color and composition and bold design."

1973

Jacques Cousteau wrote the introduction to Naar's 1973 book, Design for a Limited Planet, which featured interviews and photographs with pioneers of solar energy in the American Southwest and sold over 100,000 copies.

1991

In 1991, the American Library Association included Design for a Livable Planet (coauthored by Naar and his son Alex) among its "Best Books of the Year for Young Adults".

1996

As an early advocate of solar energy—he helped mount the first solar collectors on the roof of the White House—Naar later became president of the New York Metropolitan Solar Energy Society, and served for two years (1996–1998) as deputy director of renewable energy programs at the United States Agency for International Development.

As a consultant, he worked with entities such as NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and SELCO (Solar Electric Light Company India).

2000

From 2000 to mid-2017, Naar was based in Trenton, New Jersey.

2005

His 2005 survey collection, Getting the Picture, was included in the "Best Designed Books 2006" exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

2007

It is for this groundbreaking series that Naar himself remains in demand, with numerous recent retrospectives and a 2007 collection, The Birth of Graffiti, which includes 130 previously unpublished photographs from the original assignment.

Other book projects followed, providing Naar with an opportunity to return to researching and writing on scientific topics, especially environmental themes.

2013

In 2013, the New Jersey State Museum mounted an exhibition of his work entitled "Jon Naar: Signature Photography."

At the end of World War II, he married American OSS officer Ellen Hartt.

He later married Ruth Kurle and Beverly Russell, which all ended in divorce.

== Major exhibitions ==