Maggie Diaz facts for kids

Maggie Diaz (born Margaret Eunice Reid, 25 February 1925 – 16 October 2016) was a talented photographer. She was born in America but moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1961. She lived and worked there for the rest of her life.

Maggie Diaz's amazing collection of photos goes all the way back to the 1950s in Chicago. Many of her works are now kept in important places. These include the State Library of Victoria, the National Library of Australia, and the National Gallery of Australia.

In 2011, Maggie was the only woman photographer featured in a special exhibition. It was held at the State Library of Victoria and was called As Modern as Tomorrow. Her photos often showed a cool contrast. She captured both the fancy world of business and the unique lives of people who felt like outsiders.

Early Life and First Steps in Photography

Maggie Diaz was born Margaret Eunice Reid on 25 February 1925. She spent her early years in New York. During World War II, when she was a teenager, she worked hard. She helped her family by working in a steel mill and bakeries.

Around 1949, Maggie got an exciting message from her brother Tom. He was a professional skater in a magic show! He asked her to join the show, and she toured America with them. The next year, she started working as an assistant at an advertising agency. She also went to art school at night.

Soon, the agency gave Maggie her own camera. She paid for it from her wages. This is when she started taking her first photos. She loved capturing everyday life, like children playing in the neighborhood and scenes on the streets of Chicago.

Photography in the USA: The 1950s

Tavern Club, Chicago, 1950s

Maggie started using the name "Maggie Besson" around this time. She won a photography prize from the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Her winning photo was a portrait of a young man in a tunnel. The prize money helped her become a freelance photographer. This meant she could work for herself.

In the 1950s, Maggie became the official photographer at The Tavern Club in Chicago. This club was a famous place for artists and thinkers. Maggie took pictures of the people there, including dancers and famous jazz musicians like the Ramsey Lewis Trio. She also created special yearbooks for the club.

Maggie also helped a young dancer named Dallas Kinney. He later became a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist. He has thanked Maggie for helping him start his career.

Between 1956 and 1959, Maggie worked on a special project. She documented a housing development in Chicago called Lower North Center. This project aimed to help people who didn't have much. It showed a mix of rich and poor areas, which was a theme in her later work.

In the late 1950s, Maggie married Clement Fraser, an Australian artist. She became very interested in his stories about Australia. Even though their marriage didn't last, her interest in Australia did.

Arriving in Melbourne: The 1960s

Peter James, 3AW Breakfast Radio

Maggie arrived in Melbourne, Australia, in 1961. She quickly became one of the city's top commercial photographers. She was known as "Maggie Besson Fraser" then.

Maggie took photos for many different projects. She showed everyday Australians for a report by The Brotherhood of St Laurence. She also took night photos to promote the city of Melbourne. Even when working for clients, she always took extra photos just for herself. Many of these personal photos were not seen for 40 years! One of these, "Girl Hero," is now in the National Gallery of Australia.

Maggie was the official photographer for radio station 3AW in the mid-1960s. An article in The Age newspaper in 1964 mentioned her work. It said her photos were part of the new 3AW studios. She took portraits of radio stars and covered special events.

In 1964, Maggie also showed her work in an exhibition called Photovision. It was held at the Museum of Modern Art. She exhibited alongside famous photographers like Wolfgang Sievers and Mark Strizic. Her work was even used to teach photography students at RMIT.

In 1964, Maggie discovered Melbourne's Spanish community. She felt very comfortable there, as it reminded her of the lively Chicago she missed. She took many photos of Spanish dance groups. Here, she met Jose Diaz, who would become her partner. They had a son, Stevan, in 1967.

In 1968, Maggie, Jose, and Stevan moved into a studio with her ex-husband, Clement Fraser. He had created a popular map of Australia. When the government changed in 1972, he left the studio to Maggie and Jose.

The Middle Years: 1970s–1980s

Maggie decided to use Jose's last name, becoming "Maggie Diaz." She continued her work as a commercial photographer. She took photos for many advertising agencies.

In 1975, The Toorak Times newspaper praised her "art photography." They even put one of her photos, Reticulated Lady, on their front cover. She also took a portrait of the famous artist Sidney Nolan's mother in 1977.

For two years, Maggie worked as a staff photographer for Southern Cross News. She covered many different events and people. This included taking photos of Tommy Hanlon Jr. from Ashton's Circus.

In the 1980s, Maggie became well-known for her portraits of actors. She worked with casting agencies. One young actor she photographed, Gwendolen De Lacy, became a lifelong friend. Gwendolen later played a huge part in organizing and sharing Maggie's work.

Maggie moved her studio in the late 1980s. She set up a darkroom in a shed at her new flat. She became known for taking photos of actors in doorways and laneways. She always used natural light.

The Later Years: 1990s

Maggie moved again to an apartment without a darkroom. But she kept taking photos. She was especially good at capturing the true spirit of artists. She photographed many plays at theatres like La Mama in the 1990s.

In the late 1990s, her partner Jose had a heart attack, and Maggie started to slow down her work. In 2003, Maggie had a bad fall. Later that year, Jose sadly passed away from another heart attack.

Working with Gwendolen De Lacy

Gwen in Veil at Midnight, Art Centre Melbourne, c1985

In 2004, Maggie's friend Gwendolen De Lacy started organizing Maggie's huge collection of photos. In 2005, some of these amazing photos were shown as a slideshow. This happened at La Mama Theatre to celebrate Maggie's 80th birthday.

The event was a huge success and created a lot of interest in Maggie's work. A politician even spoke about her in the Victorian State Parliament. This led to Maggie's first big exhibition, Into the Light, in 2007. It was held at the City of Melbourne Museum.

The exhibition then toured Australia. In 2008, Maggie was featured on the ABC 'Sunday Arts' TV show. In 2010, the State Library of Victoria bought the entire Into the Light exhibition. They also bought Maggie's whole photo collection, which covered 50 years of her work!

Some of these photos were part of another exhibition at the State Library. It was called As Modern as Tomorrow: photographs in Post War Melbourne. A photography historian named Gael Newton noted that Maggie was the only woman included.

In 2011, Maggie was chosen as a main artist for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. Her exhibition, One-way Ticket, showed over 35 photos that had never been seen before. This exhibition celebrated the first 25 years of Maggie's life as an artist.

In 2012, the National Library of Australia also bought 18 of Maggie's photographs. Sadly, Maggie had surgery to remove her left eye due to skin cancer. After a fire at her home, she moved into a care home in St Kilda. She lived there until she passed away in October 2016.

To honor her life and work, the Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women started in 2015. It is awarded every two years to women photographers. The prize encourages artists to use "available light," just like Maggie did in her famous work.

Exhibitions

• As Modern as Tomorrow – Photographers in Post-war Melbourne (Group exhibition), State Library of Victoria, 1 July 2011 – 5 February 2012
• Maggie Diaz, One-way Ticket Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Mining Exchange, Ballarat, 20 August – 18 September 2011
• Maggie Diaz – Into the Light: Kingston Arts Centre, Moorabbin, Victoria, 20 March – 6 April 2009
• The Drum Theatre, Dandenong Town Hall, City of Greater Dandenong, 16 April – 12 June 2009
• Portland Arts Centre, Portland, Victoria, 19 January – 27 February 2009
• Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, 2 July – 9 August 2009
• Burrinja Gallery, Upwey, Victoria, 11 April – 13 July 2008
• Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre, Colac, Victoria, 25 July – 14 September 2008
• City Museum at Old Treasury, Melbourne, 10 March – 24 June 2007

Collections

State Library of Victoria

In 2010, the State Library of Victoria bought Maggie's entire collection. Over 1000 of her images have been made digital. You can see them online through their catalogue.

Some of the photos include:

• Maggie Diaz's journey from Hawaii and arrival in Sydney on the ship Canberra 1961
• Tony MacDougall's wife and three children, 1963
• Lorna Saba, 1966
• Experimental with the Cherokees, between 1960 and 1979
• Melbourne Maternal Health, nurse visiting new mother, between 1960 and 1969.
• Child with an elephant at a circus, between 1960 and 1969
• Crowds at the beach between 1960 and 1969
• Woman working in clothing factory. between 1960 and 1969
• Myer Music Bowl ; [Person on trampoline in front of a ferris wheel] between 1960 and 1969
• Children playing; beach scenes; portraits of Tommy Hanlon Jnr. and a boy; between 1960 and 1969
• Stockton Riley, musician 1980
• Bill Ford, good friend and philosopher 1961
• Lindsay Saddington, actor, teacher, Sascha Agency, 1983
• Geoff Jenkins, 1963
• Patrick Alexander (AWG) – poet and repairman 1987
• The Brotherhood of St. Laurence 1962
• Chicago 'Indian Girls' portraits, 1961
• Helen Jackson, radio presenter ABC /3AW 1979
• Ava Brown and family, Chicago, Jewish family, 1959
• Grace Luminato, La Italiana, La Superba, 1988
• Tony MacDougall's wife and three children. 1963

National Gallery of Australia

The National Gallery of Australia bought four of Maggie's prints in 2011:

• Skipping, Lower North Center, Chicago, c 1960 prtd c 2011
• Coming or Going. Self-portrait with The Canberra, Melbourne, 1961 prtd c.2011
• Elephant joy, Luna Park. c 1965 prtd 2011
• Girl Hero (for Paddle Shoes) Printed by Tiffaney Bishop, Melbourne 2011, c 1965 prtd 2000

National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia bought 18 of Maggie's photos in 2012. They are listed under "Australian life, 1960–1990 / Maggie Diaz."

• Newspaper seller, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Asleep at the races, Melbourne Cup, Flemington, ca.1965
• Migrants on the railway, Gardenvale, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Audience at the Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Beach father and son, St. Kilda, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Schoolboys reaching for the ball, in the Paddle Shoes commercial, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Flinders Street traffic, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Opera House construction, Sydney, ca. 1965
• Higgins boys climbing down the side of their house, Malvern, Melbourne, ca. 1970
• Gardenvale tunnel, an Australian ballet, Gardenvale, Melbourne, May 1970
• The Canberra, Station Pier, Port Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Mobile broadcast studio for Radio Melbourne 3AW between Elwood and St. Kilda, Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Echuca rodeo, Victoria, ca. 1965
• Elephant trainer and son, Melbourne, 1971
• Spastic Centre bus, Melbourne, May 1970
• The real Australian, portrait of a man at a bar, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, 1990
• Maggie Diaz, Port Melbourne, ca. 1965
• Maggie Diaz working, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1960

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See also

• Photography in Australia
• Cinema of Australia
• John Watt Beattie
• William Bland
• Jeff Carter (photographer)
• Ken G. Hall
• Frank Hurley
• Charles Kerry
• Henry King (photographer)
• David Perry (Australian filmmaker)
• Ruby Spowart
• Mark Strizic