Please contact Sharon Kaplan with any questions, or to license or purchase any photos sharonrkaplan@gmail.com
Peter B. Kaplan – bio
Peter has been featured numerous times on shows such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt, Real People, and CNN. He has appeared as a spokesperson for Eastman Kodak, Nimslo 3D Camera, Soligar Lens and Nikon Cameras. His photographs have appeared in almost every major magazine in the world and have hung in shows at the Canton Art Institute, Ohio, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, NYC, Municipal Arts Society of New York City, New York Historical Society, NYC; N.Y. State Museum, Albany: Nikon House, NYC; Museum of Modern Art, NYC; Smithsonian, Washington DC and International Center for Photography, NYC; to name a few.
He was honored when the United States and French Governments selected his image for the Statue of Liberty 100th Anniversary Commemorative Stamp issued July 4, 1986. His images of the Statue of Liberty restoration and celebration were also selected to appear on 170 different commemorative stamps in thirteen other nations.
Harry N. Abrams published his first book, ‘High on New York’ in 1985. “These unusual pictures combine the skill of a professional photographer, the perception of a fine painter and the daring of a trapeze artist.” said Paul Goldberger, Architectural critic for The New York Times. Kaplan went on to produce several other books. His next two concentrated on the Statue of Liberty, and were published for the Statue’s centennial, ‘A Celebration of Freedom and Liberty, The Statue And The American Dream,’ published by the National Geographic Society.
In May of 1987, the Friends of the Golden Gate Bridge appointed Mr. Kaplan the “Official Photographer” for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge. Eastman Kodak created a limited edition of dye transfer prints from this assignment and presented these to various dignitaries.
In 1990 he was sponsored by Eastman Kodak to produce a one-man show called ‘Three Coasts’, which was on display for over a year at the Museum in the St. Louis Arch for their 25th Anniversary. In the summer of 1991, the Operation Welcome Home NYC committee named him the Official Photographer for the parade. In 1992, he created the advertising photos for the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain. The following year he created advertising photos for the German Bundapost in Berlin, Germany. Both of these images were created from cranes with his signature 16 mm fisheye overview lens.
In 1985, he married his wife in a ceremony held on the 96th story ledge of the Empire State Building. Their wedding bands were created from scrap copper of the new torch of the Statue of Liberty. They have a daughter, Ricki Liberty, and a son, Gabriel Liberty. In 1995, Mr. Kaplan moved his corporate headquarters to Hockessin, Delaware where at present he resides with his family. Since moving to Delaware, he has had several one-man shows, worked on many book projects, and received numerous honors for his achievements. He created and self published a book for Turner Construction titled “Citigroup LIC 2.” At present he has been working on another book for Turner Construction that he started in 2008 on Tower # 2 at Ground Zero.
In 1997 he was awarded a State Fellowship and a NEA Grant to work on his newest Statue of Liberty book, called ‘Liberty for All,’ written by his co-author Lee Iacocca. In the spring of 1998, the U.S. Postal Service released the Art Deco Commemorative Stamps in the Century Series using Mr. Kaplan’s Chrysler Building image. In November 1998, he did the first pull out cover for the 90th Anniversary issue of Philadelphia Magazine, along with an eight-page essay inside showing his signature heights technique called “Pole Shots.” In 2002 he had more images selected then any other photographer to use in the one-year commemorative book of 9/11 titled ‘Eleven,’ published by Rizzoli. In 2003, his work was selected for the book series ‘America 24/7,’ as well as the Delaware state version where his image was chosen to be used on the cover along with many inside. In 2007 Turner Construction published a special edition book called “CitiGroup LIC #2” featuring Kaplan’s photographs of their construction property. In 2008 one of Kaplan’s images was chosen to hang along with Gordon Parks Show at the Delaware Art Museum and in 2010, Mr. Kaplan was given the honor of being one of the guest speakers at the opening ceremonies of the Gordon Parks Museum in Ft. Scott, KS.