Bob Duncan, aka Duncan, is a self-taught photographer who has been photographing since he was 12 years old. Duncan was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1953 and began photographing in 1965. That was the year that Polaroid introduced their most inexpensive camera, the Swinger. According to Wikipedia it became one of the best selling cameras of all time. In addition to the low price the camera was also sold at drug stores. At that age his only source of income was a weekly allowance. The fact that the camera was affordable and could be purchased at the nearby pharmacy brought photography within his reach.

Duncan’s destiny included not only a lifetime of photography but also of travel. In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles and two years later moved to New York. While in Manhattan he regularly visited photography galleries and by the late 70s had purchased his first 35mm camera. After attending a photography lecture at NYU he discovered the work of master photographers such as Stieglitz, Weston, Callahan and others which greatly influenced him.

While working for a major photo lab he was once asked to make a delivery to the Richard Avedon studio. At that time Avedon was arguably the world’s most famous living photographer. Upon arrival Avedon’s assistant gave Duncan a tour of the multi-leveled townhouse. “Walking into Avedon’s residence on the top floor, I was struck when I saw the portraits on display in his living room by Julia Margaret Cameron and August Sander. They left an indelible impression on me.”

Duncan first moved abroad in 1978. Although Paris became his home base he traveled throughout Europe. While in Paris he made friends with the owners of a photography gallery and they introduced him to the legendary photographer, Horst. He also met the photographer Duane Michaels and had the good fortune of meeting the painter, sculptor Cy Twombly. It was Twombly who first influenced his love of abstract art thereafter.

To date Duncan has photographed and traveled extensively and exhibited in the US, Asia and Europe.