Mark Seliger  (American, 1959) 

Mark Seliger (American, b.1959) is a photographer particularly noted for his portraits. He was born in Amarillo, TX, but later moved with his family to Houston, TX. Realizing that he had an affinity for the art world, he went to school at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. Seliger then attended East Texas State University.

The photographs he has taken are timeless visualizations of society. His portrait work takes a wide range of subjects, from Pop idols to political figures. In 1984 he moved to New York, NY, and in 1987 he was working for Rolling Stone. In 1992, Seliger was promoted to chief photographer of Rolling Stone and remained in that position until 2002. During his career with the magazine, he was responsible for the creation of over 100 magazine covers. Seliger has also photographed covers for GQ, Vanity Fair, and other similar magazines. He created a variety of CD covers for names such as Diana Krall (Canadian, b.1964) and Burning Spear. Seliger published a number of books, including Lenny Kravitz in 2001, which he cowrote with Lenny Kravitz (American, b.1964), Physiognomy: The Mark Seliger Photographs in 1999, and When They Come to Take My Father - voices of the Holocaust in 1996. He also directed some short films during the same time period. In addition, Seliger was responsible for portraits of famous names such as Kurt Cobain (American, 1967-1994), Tony Bennett (American, b.1926), Susan Sarandon (American, b.1946), Matthew Barney (American, b.1967), Rob Thomas (American, b.1972), David Byrne (American, b.1952), Johnny Depp (American, b.1963), and Willie Nelson (American, b.1933).

Seliger’s photographs capture the artists in their own atmosphere, giving the audiences a classic look at what the group or artist represents. His style of photography brings together classic styles with more modern looks. Seliger is currently employed by Conde Nast Publications in New York. He continues to provide them with photographs of some of the most influential and recognizable individuals.