He survived horrors of war to photograph life’s beauty SHOOT FOR THE STARS
TONY Vaccaro took his first picture when he was 10 years old and living in Italy. He soon started toting a camera everywhere — to school, on camping trips, a visit to the Vatican and eventually to the front lines of World War II.
After surviving the war, Vaccaro vowed he would devote himself not to the brutality of battle, but to “beauty.”
“I said to myself, ‘You must photograph those people who give mankind something,’” the 99-year-old photographer, who lives in Long Island City, told The Post. “And I went after them — all of them.”
Famous subjects
He sure did: Vaccaro has snapped everyone from Jackson Pollock to John F. Kennedy Jr., Sophia Loren, Lee Krasner, Frank Lloyd Wright — who gave Vaccaro one of his canes — and countless other luminaries, who often became his friends.
Vaccaro turns 100 on Dec. 20, and a new exhibit celebrates his extraordinary life and career. “Tony Vaccaro: The Centennial Exhibition” runs from tomorrow till Dec. 18 at the Monroe Gallery of Photography pop-up at 21 Spring St. It features some two dozen
images from a deep body of work, from harrowing war photos to whimsical fashion shoots and portraits of celebs.
He likes to joke that he has survived the battle of Normandy and two bouts of COVID-19, but his entire life is one of remarkable resilience. Born in Greensburg, Penn., Dec. 20, 1922, he spent his early childhood in Italy after his family had to flee the States under threat of the Mafia. By age 5, both of his parents were dead.
“I was raised by my uncle, who physically abused me,” Vaccaro said. “But he did give me my dad’s box camera.”
As fascism swept through Italy, a teenaged Vaccaro went back to the States, reuniting with his two sisters in Westchester County. He didn’t speak English, but toting around his camera, which he used to document his classmates, made him feel accepted.
At 21, he was drafted into the US Army. He carried his 35 mm. Argus C3, along with his gun, to the front lines. He used Army helmets to develop his film at night and hung the prints on tree branches to dry. He was shot and injured twice and received a Purple Heart. Afterward, he used his experience shooting on the front lines to bring life and spontaneity to the staid world of fashion shoots, much like Richard Avedon and Gordon Parks.
Still capturing life
Vaccaro retired in the 1980s, but he still takes pictures of his 8-year-old twin grandchildren, Luke and Liam (who live in the apartment across the hall from him in Queens), and even photographed the New York City Marathon in November. He also shares an array of vintage snaps on Instagram — @tonyvaccarophotographer — with the help of his daughter-in-law, Maria.
Despite some recent health issues, he has not lost his zest for life.
“I feel super,” he said over the phone from his hospital bed, adding that he credits “chocolate, red wine and determination” for his longevity.
“I have been lucky . . . I want the world to know the beauty of life.”