Fred Lyon Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1924 -

Photographer Fred Lyon was born in San Francisco in 1924, and he calls himself a “third or fourth generation native.” He grew up around the Peninsula, and got into photography in high school – “because cameras were cool and I thought it would be a good way to get girls,” he told me. “Guess how that turned out.”

I’d say it turned out very well for Fred – after stints in DC photographing the navy and the White House, and in New York shooting for the big fashion houses, he moved back to SF in 1946 and starting freelancing for such prestigious and popular magazines as Vogue, Glamour, Life, and Seventeen. He captured a city that was captivating the country, and has ventured into everything from food and fashion to wine, news, and architecture as subjects. His work has morphed from print to fine art, as his gorgeous photos hang on the walls of galleries and in collectors’ homes. “But I’m still dancing out on the edge,” he jokes, “pushing my luck, and living beyond my means.”