Chronology 1923 - 1993

1923   Raymond Jacobs born April 26, Brooklyn, New York

1936   Enters DeWitt Clinton High School in Bronx, New York. Wins contest for photograph of New York University Library on Bronx campus.

1939   Uses Brownie camera to photograph the World’s Fair for high school newspaper. Graduates DeWitt Clinton High School.

1940   Enrolls at City College of New York.

1941   Drops out of college due to a back injury.

1942   Enrolls in Sign Corps School.

1942   Enlists in U.S. Army Signal Corps, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

1942 - 1945   Serves in Europe in the Army Signal Corps.

1945   Receives Army discharge.

1946   Returns to M. Jacobs Furs, New York.

1947   Attends Art Students League of New York, where he studies drawing and painting.

1950   Joins Lisette Model’s photography class at the New School for Social Research, New York.

1952 - 1953   Studies photography with Sid Grossman in New York City.

1953   Meets future wife, Eleanor Cohen, at Stanbrooke, a riding ranch in Rhinebeck, New York.

1954   First commercial job photography the first catalog of imported Scandinavian items for Paul Secon’s Pottery Barn.

1954   Photographer for “The Fight Against Silence - Jazz.” Harper’s Bazaar. July.

1955   Photographer for “Satchmo: The Three Lives of Louis Armstrong.” Leonard Feather. Esquire. March, pp. 80-82.

1955   Work appears in The Family of Man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

1955   Photograph for “Life with 13 Sons.” Parade. July 17, pp. 8-11.

1955   Writer and Photographer for “Be Your Own Weatherman.” Leica Photography. Winter 1955, pp. 10-15.

1955   Acquires studio on East 17th Street, New York City.

1955   Marries Eleanor Cohen, December 29.

1956   Writer and Photographer for “Migratory Workers.” Candid Photography, pp. 10-15.

1956   Photographs appear in See.

1956   Writer and Photographer for “Ballet on Eighth Avenue.” Art Photography. May, pp. 30-33, 49.

1956   Receives first of five certificates of excellence from the American Institute of Graphic Art.

1957   Work appears in group exhibition Seventy Photographers Look at New York. Museum of Modern Art, New York. November - March, 1958.

1958   Writer and Photographer for “For the Pose That’s Convincing.” Art Direction. March, cover, pp. 42-43.

1958   Receives Award for Distinctive Merit for CBS Radio from the 37th Annual Exhibition of Advertising and Editorial Art & Design, the Art Directors Club of New York.

1959   November 28, daughter Susan is born.

1960   Receives Award of Distinction at the 39th Annual Exhibition, the Art Directors Club of New York.

1960   Studies C-printing with Sy Kattleson. Installs color lab darkroom equipment.

1961   Solo exhibition of color photography. Limelight Gallery, New York. June 2 - July 2.

1962   March 3, daughter Laura is born.

1962   “Circus Flag” photograph appears on cover of Popular Photography, September.

1963   Solo exhibition Raymond Jacobs Photographs; 1953 - 1963. Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. July 7 - August 11.

1964   Photographs daughter Susan Jacobs for “What Makes a Good Father.” Redbook. January, p.38.

1964   Photograph for “Eight Days Make  a Miracle.” McCall’s. January, p. 34.

1954   Dutch government assigns Jacobs to photograph all of Holland for tourism purposes.

1966   Photographer for “Costa Smeralda and the Man Who Had it Made.” Audrey Menen, Venture. March, pp.50-58.

1966   Studies filmmaking at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

1967   Co-writes, co-produces, “Aroused,” film described by the Museum of Modern Art as a Greek tragedy and purchased for its permanent collection.

1968   Co-produces and directs “The Minx” for Cambist Films, starring Jan Sterling.

1969   In June, the Jacobs family sails on the SS France to LeHarve, France, for a grand tour of Europe.

1969   In August, Eleanor purchases a pair of Anne Kalso Minus-Heel shoes in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Jacobses receive distribution rights.

1970   The Earth Shoe Company shop opens on East 17th Street, in celebration of the first Earth Day, April 22.

1971   Jacobs, as president, and his wife, as vice-president, combine their skills and grow the company into 135 privately owed retail stores across the country and Europe within seven years.

1977   The Jacobses give up their interest in the Earth Shoe.

1978   Solo exhibition at the Washington Irving Gallery, New York.

1979   The Jacobses open Art Appreciation, an art gallery on East 17th Street to sell American and European paintings and sculpture.

1982   Relocates part-time to Litchfield, Connecticut. Builds a darkroom there.

1983 - 1988   Resumes photography career and prints black-and-white photos of northwestern Connecticut.

1989   Accepts position to teach photography at the Forman School, a private preparatory school in Litchfield, Connecticut.

1990   Solo exhibition at the Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield, Connecticut. February - March.

1990   Featured in “Raymond Jacobs back in the public eye.” Frank Markling. News-Times. February 9, p. 47.

1990   Solo retrospective exhibition at the National Arts Club, New York City. April - May.

1990   Solo exhibition at the Washington Art Association, Washington Depot, Connecticut.

1992   Organizes his work for a major retrospective.

1993   Dies March 17.

2000   Work appears in a group exhibition, The Focused Eye, New Arts Gallery, Bantam, Connecticut.

2006   Solo retrospective exhibition Raymond Jacobs Rediscovered. The Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut. April 1 - 30.