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Ara Güler, born in Istanbul in 1928, is widely celebrated both nationally and internationally as a master of the arts of photo-journalism and photography. During his childhood he was strongly influenced by the cinema; later, when a lycée student, he worked in film studios. His ambition being to become a theatrical director and playwright, he took lessons in acting and drama from the celebrated theatre manager and producer Muhsin Ertuğrul. While still at school, he began to publish short stories – in both Turkish and Armenian – in various newspapers and literary magazines. In 1951, he completed his studies at Getronagan Lycée (a private Armenian school), and entered the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics; having resolved to pursue a career in photo-journalism, however, he left university without completing the course and did his military service. He began to work as a photo-journalist – for the Yeni İstanbul (‘New Istanbul’) newspaper – in 1950, and this was followed by work for leading magazines of the day such as Devir (‘The Age’), Resimli Hayat (‘Illustrated Life’) and Hayat (‘Life’).
In 1956, Ara Güler began to produce pieces of photo-journalism for Time and Life magazine; two years later, his work began to appear in Paris Match and Stern. Not long afterwards, Magnum Photos began to distribute his photographs worldwide. A photographic report he produced on the subject of Noah’s Ark was distributed by Magnum Photos to over 100 publications. During this period, he also produced a report on the statues on Mount Nemrut, and it was thanks to his photographs that the world got to know of the site. Yet another report of major significance focussed on the long-forgotten ancient city of Aphrodisias; it aroused worldwide interest, causing the ruins to be rediscovered and archaeological excavations to begin in the area.
Up to 1961, Ara Güler worked as Head of Photography for Hayat magazine. That year, the British Journal of Photography Yearbook proclaimed him one of the seven best living photographers; he was also admitted to the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP), becoming the only member of the organisation who hailed from Turkey. In 1962, Leica Magazine described him as ‘Master of Leica’, and many of his photographs were featured in an issue of Camera magazine (which was then one of the leading publications in the world of photography). He contributed some of the photographs for Lord Kinross’s book on the Hagia Sophia, published in 1971, and it was his photograph of Picasso that appeared on the cover of Picasso: Métamorphoses et Unité, a book prepared by the Skira publishing firm to commemorate the artist’s 90th birthday.
In 1974, Ara Güler was invited to visit the United States. There, he conducted interviews with, and photographed, a number of celebrated Americans; these photographs were subsequently put on display in several countries under the title ‘Creative Americans’. At around this time, he also began to make Kahramanın Sonu (‘Hero’s End), an experimental documentary film about the dismantling of the WWI battleship Yavuz. By now, his photographs on themes related to the arts, the history of art, archaeology and architecture were appearing in Time, Life, Horizon and Newsweek magazines, as well as in Skira publications. From 1989 onwards, he took part in the ‘Day in the Life of ...’ project together with other world-famous photographers, visiting Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei in the process. Books he had been working on for many years – for instance, Sinan, Living in Turkey and Turkish Style – were published by leading publishing houses in the USA, Britain, France and Singapore.
Among the many awards Ara Güler received were the following: the Légion d’honneur, Officier des Arts et des Lettres (given by the French government in 2002); the Médaille de la Ville de Paris (given by the Paris Municipal Authority in 2009); the Presidency of the Turkish Republic Culture and the Arts Grand Award, given in 2005; the Award for Services to Culture and the Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, given in 2008; the Turkish National Assembly’s Award for Outstanding Services, given in 2009; the USA-based Lucie Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, given in 2009; and the Culture and the Arts Grand Award of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, given in 2011. In addition, he received Honorary Doctorates from Yıldız Technical University (2004), Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (2013) and Boğaziçi University (2014).
During his lifetime, Ara Güler conducted interviews with, and photographed, many famous people – including Bertrand Russell, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali as well as famous Turks such as writer Yaşar Kemal, ceramicist Füreya Koral and artist Fikret Mualla. Thanks to his photographs of Istanbul, he came to be closely identified with his native city; however, he also visited and photographed many other locations, both in Turkey and elsewhere. In 2016, two bodies – the Ara Güler Archives and Research Center, and the Ara Güler Museum – were set up as a result of a partnership between Ara Güler and the Doğuş Group. On 16 August 2018 (his 90th birthday), Ara Güler attended the opening of the Ara Güler Museum in person. Shortly afterwards, on 17 October, he passed away in Istanbul.
