Lynn Goldsmith

b.1948

Over her fifty-year career in the editorial world, Lynn Goldsmith’s work has appeared on and between the covers of Life, Newsweek, Time, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, National Geographic Traveler, Sports Illustrated, People, Elle, Interview, The New Yorker, to name a few. Her subjects have varied from entertainment personalities to professional athletes, from film directors to authors, from the extra-ordinary to the ordinary man on the street. She has been honored with numerous prestigious awards from the Lucien Clergue to the World Press in Portraiture. 

Thirteen books of Lynn’s imagery have been published to date. One of which, New Kids, was on The New York Times Best Seller list, a rare occurrence for any coffee table book of photography. She’s also received two New York Art Direction awards. Lynn’s imagery is held within several globally recognized institutional collections including: The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, The Museum of Modern Art, The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Photography, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Museum Folkwang, The Polaroid Collection, The Kodak Collection, among others.

Lynn Goldsmith’s professional achievements are in no way limited to the world of photography. In 1969 for Electra Records, she created the ‘bio-disk,’ won a Clio for a radio spot she produced, and worked on the first films of recording artists to be used for promotion. She is the youngest woman member ever to be accepted into the DGA (Director’s Guild of America). In 1971, she was a director of Joshua Television, the first company to do video magnification for rock groups entertaining at large venues. In 1972, she was a director for the first rock show on network television: ABC’s “In Concert”. 

In 1973, Lynn directed “We’re An American Band”, the first music documentary to be released as a theatrical short. In the mid-seventies, Lynn stopped directing to concentrate on co-managing one of rock’s biggest bands at the time, Grand Funk.

By the early eighties Lynn expanded her creative output to become the first ‘optic-music’ artist. Using the pseudonym Will Powers, she wrote and produced the album “Dancing For Mental Health” released on Island Records. Working with acclaimed musicians Sting, Steve Winwood, Todd Rundgren and Nile Rodgers, her debut album won critical acclaim and the single, Kissing With Confidence, reached #3 on the British charts. As was her plan, the videos from the album which she produced and directed became more than commercials for the record. They were used by the US Department of Labor to inspire unemployed youths, and by the National Marriage Counsel in England. Will Powers’ videos have also been used by Harvard University to help with language instruction, and by other schools throughout the USA for their individual teaching needs. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has two Will Powers videos in their permanent collection. 

Lynn considers herself a self-taught artist and entrepreneur. She is truly a pioneer in wide range of creative arts well as in business. She was the founder of the first celebrity portrait photo agency, representing the work of over two hundred worldwide photographers. Established in 1976, when news photography was what photo agencies focused on, Lynn seemed to know before others that the magazine appetite would change from world events to coverage of the biggest names in movies and music.

In 2017 Chronicle Books included her in 200 Women Who Will Change the Way You See the World.

The wide range of Lynn’s talents, skills and achievements are products of a belief she holds constant: Creativity is based on breaking limiting thought patterns, busting through fear, taking risks, and persistently working hard toward your goals. 

PLEASE NOTE: Lynn Goldsmith only produces 20 original prints from any single negative so there is only one edition of 20 pieces for any of her photographs. Prices depend on how many have sold so far, and the size you want. Please contact us for the latest information on this piece (and if you have a size preference please let us know).