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(1897-1994)
The son of artists, Harold Haliday Costain began to foster his creative
talents as a youngster, taking music lessons and studying the graphic arts
at the Art Students League in New York. Given his first camera by his father
in 1913, the young Costain quickly perceived the medium's ability to record
a narrative swiftly and accurately. He exhibited his first photograph at
the age of 17. During WWI, Costain served in the Navy, taking photos and
playing first coronet in the Navy band directed by John Phillip Sousa. Following
the war, Mr. Costain began his 70-year-long professional photographic career
as a silent film maker. Through a music student, he met the inventive motion
picture artist Gerald J. Badgeley, who offered him a position assisting
the chief cinematographer. Using a large format camera, Costain recorded
the peek of action in each scene. In the mid 1920s Costain opened a studio
in Scarsdale, NY, specializing in advertising, architectural, and narrative
photography. Among his commissions were stunning series on the Avery Salt
Mines in New Iberia, the Jack Frost sugar factory, and southern plantations.
Costain's work was widely exhibited around the world and was awarded numerous
medals, trophies, and certificates. He won awards from many prestigious
salons, including several annual conventions of the Photographers Association
of America, the International Exposition Salon, and the Preston Scientific
Society Salon. |
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