Ian Dryden

Ian Dryden (29 December 1944 - 30 May 1993) was a British photojournalist and arts photographer who worked in Edinburgh, California and Mexico prior to his death from lung cancer in 1993 at the age of 48. His work has been exhibited in the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom.[1]

Early life

Born in London and raised in Wales,[2] Dryden studied engineering and architecture at the University of Edinburgh in the early 1960s.

Photo-journalism Career

Dryden was known to be working as an Edinburgh-based documentary photographer at least by 1975.[3] Early photographs indicate travel and work in the Far East and Europe in the early 1970s, including a 1974 photograph of vehicle art in Afghanistan [4] and widely reproduced 1975 portraits of the Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett in Paris.[5][6]

In Edinburgh in 1974, Dryden met Mary Rule, an American graduate student of Shakespearean drama at the University of Edinburgh and aspiring model and stage actress. They married in San Diego, California, on Nov. 22, 1975, with Rule taking the name Dryden both as her married name and stage name thereafter.[7]

Having relocated to San Diego, from 1976-78 he worked as a regular contributor of photographs to the weekly San Diego Reader newspaper.[8] The quality of his work for the Reader attracted the attention of the photo editor at the daily San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, which hired him as a staff photographer in 1978, a position he held until mid-1983.[9]

In 1983, Dryden left the Union-Tribune and moved to Los Angeles to work as a staff photographer for The Los Angeles Times, then one of the leading daily newspapers in the United States. After three years with the Times, he went to Mexico City for the Times in August 1986 to take photographs accompanying a story about ongoing relief efforts for the 1985 Mexico City earthquake,.[10] Following that assignment, he returned to Los Angeles and by year-end resigned his staff position in order to relocate to Mexico City.

Over the next six years, Dryden worked from Mexico City, accredited as a correspondent for the Gamma-Liaison photo agency[11][12] and regularly free-lancing work to the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union and other print media that included the New York Daily News, the Sacramento Bee, Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) and National Post (Toronto).

Arts photography

Living in downtown Mexico City, Dryden associated with and photographed the work of members of a group of Mexican and foreign-born conceptual artists then transforming Mexico's art scene[13][14] that included Belgian artist Francis Alÿs,[15] British artist Melanie Smith and Mexican performance artist Elvira Santamaría Torres,[16] who was Dryden's partner during his last years in Mexico.[17]

In addition to his photo-journalism work, Dryden also served during his years in California as company photographer for the San Diego Dance Theater, the L.A. Actors Theater Center and the San Quentin Drama Workshop.[18]

Death

Ian Dryden died on May 30, 1993 in Cambridgeshire, England.[19] His remains were cremated on June 7, 1993 and scattered by family and friends, in accordance with his wishes.[20]

References
  1. "Ian Dryden, former U-T photographer, 48". The San Diego Union-Tribune (B-11). June 5, 1993.
  2. "Ian Dryden, International photojournalist". The Los Angeles Times. June 9, 1993.
  3. "Ian Dryden, 9 St Stephen Place, 1975". EdinPhoto.
  4. DeWyze, Jeannette (Sep 15, 1977). "San Diego van owners go wild with paint". San Diego Reader.
  5. Ellison, Jo (May 3, 2018). "What to wear in your 60s". Financial Times.
  6. Billington, Michael (Aug 8, 2017). "Play It Again Sam". The Guardian.
  7. "Mary Dryden - Other Works". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc.
  8. Jones, Lanie (Oct 19, 1979). "Success Staggers Young Newspaper". The Los Angeles Times (Part II, pp. 1-2).
  9. "Ian Dryden, former U-T photographer, 48". The San Diego Union-Tribune (B-11). June 5, 1993.
  10. Johnston, David (Aug 11, 1986). "Placido Domingo Shakes Up Earthquake Relief". The Los Angeles Times (View section, p. 1).
  11. Directorio 1991, A.C.E.M. Mexico City: Asociación de Corresponsales Extranjeros en México, A.C. 1991. p. 10.
  12. "Ian Dryden, former U-T photographer, 48". The San Diego Union-Tribune (B-11). June 5, 1993.
  13. Cruzvillegas, Abraham. "Tratado de Libre Comercio: Arte Mexicano Contemporáneo". Scribd.com. Scribd, Inc.
  14. Hammonds, Kit (October 16, 2019). "Spiral City". Aperture (236, Fall 2019).
  15. "Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Felipe Sanabria, The Collector (Colector) Mexico City 1990-2, Private Collection © Francis Alÿs Photo: Ian Dryden". Tate.org.uk. Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery.
  16. Tarcisio, Eloy (1993). "De una noche sin dormir, Elvira SANTAMARIA. Photo: Ian DRYDEN., in 'El Mes de la performance'" (PDF). Inter. Fall 1992-Winter 1993: 55–56.
  17. "Santamaría, Elvira". Archivo Artea. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha.
  18. "Ian Dryden". Variety. June 11, 1993.
  19. "England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, Register Number: C27C, District and Subdistrict: 3311C, Entry Number: 204". Ancestry.co.uk. Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company.
  20. "Ian Dryden, former U-T photographer, 48". The San Diego Union-Tribune (B-11). June 5, 1993.
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