NEWPORT, R.I. – Not long after writer and photographer Michael A. Clinton, a lifelong traveler, achieved his goal of visiting 100 countries, friend and painter Mary Rolland suggested he showcase a collection from his 1000s of photographs. Winning rave reviews and luring admirers, the exhibit morphed into the compelling Wanderlust: 100 Countries, named one of the best books of 2004 by American Photo Magazine.
Clinton scoured the far corners of the earth during his years of globetrotting, but an encounter in Lithuania stopped him dead in his tracks. “I have some family bloodlines from several generations ago there, and I saw this woman on the street and she could have been my grandmother,” says Clinton. The moment sparked the brainchild for his upcoming 2010 release, American Portraits: 100 Countries, which Clinton will speak about tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Redwood Library and Athenæum in Newport.
American Portraits: 100 Countries is Clinton’s fourth release, but “author” is a title he didn’t set his sights on at the outset– he already had his hands full as Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Publishing Director for Hearst Magazines, which includes oversight of fifteen publications, including Harper’s Bazaar, Marie-Claire, O: The Oprah Magazine, Seventeen and Esquire. “Doing a book wasn’t even on my radar,” he laughs. “It’s been a really organic and very unexpected. Let’s call it a passion which turned it into a cottage industry.” An industry, it turns out, that in his upcoming release celebrates the diverse American landscape. The person with the oldest traceability is a woman who’s family lived in America before it was America; she is Hopi Indian. The newest is a Uruguayan who secured citizenship as the book was being produced. In between, you’ll find more than 90 people, each with different faces, different hair, different skin colors and one common descriptor: American. “Whether we were on the Mayflower or just arrived here last week, we’re all from somewhere else,” Clinton explains. “We all have an American story.”
**Michael A. Clinton serves on the acquisitions committee of the International Center of Photography in New York and is an advisor to Friends Without Boarders. Clinton is author of the aforementioned Wanderlust: One Hundred Countries as well as Global Snaps and Global Faces and resides in New York City and Southampton, NY. He will discuss the 2010 release of American Portraits: 100 Countries at the Redwood Library and Athenæum in Newport on Sunday, December 13th at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Loading ...
Newport, RI
