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Hometown Terre Haute: Photography
from the Martin Studios
June 11-July 25, 2004
Frank J. Martin was
employed at Terre Haute Traction and Light Company when he identified a
need for his and other companies to create blueprints locally for the rapidly
expanding city. In 1906, Martin purchased the city's first blueprinting
machine and established an office at 681 Wabash Avenue. Soon thereafter,
Martin expanded his business by establishing a commercial and portrait photography
studio that would be known simply as Martin's Photo Shop. In only
a few short years, Frank Martin had established his reputation as the finest
photographer in the region.
Martin captured on film countless newsworthy events and
social gatherings and sold the images to the city's three daily newspapers:
the Tribune, Post, and Star. As the business grew, each of
Frank Martin's six children assisted in their father's studio; however,
it was Martin's sons Willard and Ken who would perpetuate the family 
company. In 1933, Frank Martin was tragically struck and
killed by a vehicle while he was crossing Cherry Street on his way to photograph
an ISU prom. Ken and Willard Martin purchased the business, already ailing
from considerable losses due to the early days of the Great Depression,
from their widowed mother and breathed new life into the company. Willard,
the eldest, maintained the profitable portraiture department and Ken assumed
the bustling commercial and news-printing department. Under the guidance
of the capable young men, Martin's Photo Shop flourished for another
forty years. (right: Martins in the Field, photo, Courtesy
of Indiana Historical Society)
As was the philosophy of their father, Ken and Willard
continued to pioneer new photographic technologies. The Martins were the
first in the region to experiment with electric light flashes and bulbs,
color film, and smokeless flashes for group portraits. The latter process
would earn Ken the esteemed nickname "One-Shot Martin" who, through
the blessings of technology and expertise, was able to take enormous group
photos in only a single take. One of the attributes that propelled the Martin's
to the top of their industry was their collective ability to catch the life
and spirit of their subjects on film. Whether taking a formal portrait of
a couple's fiftieth wedding anniversary or candidly photographing a tender
reunion between soldiers and families, the Martins lovingly and unobtrusively
captured life's dramas on film.
After a full career as a photographer, Ken Martin retired
from his profession in 1976 thus concluding a seventy-year family tradition.
During its operation, Martin's Photo Shop documented eight decades
of Terre Haute's history. Together the Martins photographed nearly every
president from FDR to Nixon as well as numerous actors, authors, athletes
and everyday citizens. When the shop was closed, over a ton and a half of
photographic records were removed from the studio. While significant parts
of the collection were given to the Vigo County Library and Indiana State
University, the lion's share of photographs were given to the Indiana Historical
Society in Indianapolis from which images in this exhibit were loaned.
While the Martin collection is perhaps one of the most
frequently reproduced and researched bodies of work in the state, the photos
are generally viewed as historical documents rather than works of art. The
exhibit Hometown Terre Haute: Photography from the Martin Studios
reexamines some of the most unique photographs taken by Frank, Willard,
and Ken Martin during the era of the Martin Photo Shop from 1906-1976. Hometown
Terre Haute features exquisite portraits, landscapes and still lifes
that portray the frenetic life of 20th century Terre Haute. The exhibit
Hometown Terre Haute: Photography from the Martin Studios runs from
June 11-July 25, 2004 at the Swope Art Museum. A special opening reception
will be held Friday, June 11 from 5-8pm.
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Copyright 2003, 2004 Traditional Fine Arts
Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.