James Newberry founded Columbia College Chicago’s department of photography and taught at the college from 1967 until 1975.
Newberry frequently shot photographs of Chicago’s legendary open-air Maxwell Street Market and his work became part of exhibitions at the Chicago History Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Former students recalled Newberry’s depth of knowledge as an instructor and as a practitioner.
“He would bring classic, vintage prints by photography masters to class for us to examine and discuss, constantly challenging us to dig deeper in our understanding how and why a particular image was made,” said retired Kansas-based photographer Steve Wilson, a former student. “He challenged us to expand our understanding of the history of photography and art, and always had suggestions for other references and artists to study regardless of medium.”
Newberry, 84, died of complications from multiple myeloma on Aug. 23 at his home near Dallas, said his son Jim. He had lived in Texas for more than 40 years and previously lived in Evanston and Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
Born in Indianapolis, Newberry graduated from Evanston Township High School and had a love of art, books, comics and movies from a young age.
Newberry served in the Army for two years in his early 20s. He attended Indiana University before transferring to the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1967 and a master’s degree in 1973.
Early in his career, Newberry worked in a commercial photography studio in Prudential Plaza and for photographer Clarence John Laughlin. Concerned with the human figure’s place in modern-day landscapes, Newberry began walking Maxwell Street in the 1960s.
“I’m trying to show, or maybe discover, that fantasy is hidden just below surface reality,” Newberry told the Tribune in 1966. “I dislike posing people and like working as close to them as possible.”
“He loved photography from both the technical and artistic aspects,” said his daughter June. “He had a great passion for all aspects of photography — light, composition, technique, history and great masters. He was also a great lover of books, paintings and film.”
In 1967, Newberry was hired by Columbia College Chicago, where he founded the photography department.
New York City photographer Michael Mella, a student of Newberry’s in the early 1970s, recalled Newberry’s “support, love and a wry awareness of how much he had up his sleeve as a teacher.”
“As the days turned into months as Jim’s student, I slowly learned the enormity of his knowledge of painting and photography,” Mella said. “His work as both a documentary photographer and photographing nudes in harsh natural settings gave me insights into the world of art that have stayed with me to this very day … James Newberry remains an influence on my daily life.”
Newberry left Columbia in 1975 to teach for a year at England’s Manchester Polytechnic — now known as Manchester Metropolitan University. He returned to the U.S. in 1976 and taught for a year at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, followed by two years at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
In 1979, Newberry began teaching at East Texas State University, which now is known as Texas A&M University–Commerce, where he remained for 16 years.
Robb Kendrick, a Texas-based photographer and former student of Newberry’s at East Texas State, said Newberry’s major impact on him was “really believing in my passion for photography and seeing some inkling of talent to push forward and challenge (me).”
“He really grew my spirit along with photographic skills and was always there to talk,” Kendrick said. “I believe my success was due to Jim’s faith in me and the drive instilled to never accept anything other than your fullest potential and to keep pushing the boundaries.”
New York City-based photographer Mark Seliger, who took an environmental portraiture course from Newberry at East Texas State, recalled how Newberry helped steer students on a career path that brought together both theoretical and practical perspectives.
“He gave us the opportunity to explore design and to understand the way that other photographers thought,” Seliger said. “It was more about concept and ideas and finding a voice and that was really unique, rather than just trying to be a serviceable commercial photographer.”
Even after leaving Chicago, Newberry had great affection for the city. He photographed Maxwell Street from the mid-1960s until 1990. In 1983 and 1984, his photos of Maxwell Street were displayed at the Chicago Historical Society’s Chicago History Museum.
In 1987, Newberry was one of 30 photographers tapped to document Chicago life in the “Changing Chicago” project, which was a joint effort of the Focus/Infinity Fund and five area museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
After retiring from teaching in 1996, Newberry studied painting in France, his family said.
Two marriages ended in divorce. Newberry also is survived by three other daughters, Susan Siebenmorgen, Victoria Costakis and Mary Newberry Davis; another son, Wynn; eight grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
Services are private.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
To purchase a death notice, visit https://placeanad.chicagotribune.com/death-notices. To suggest a staff-written obituary on a person of local interest, email chicagoland@chicagotribune.com.
