Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Leslie Harris photographs
Date(s)
- undated (Creation)
Extent
9 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Leslie Harris is a professional photographer from Miami, Florida. She received a BFA in Fine Art Photography in 1974 from the University of South Florida. Harris also studied in the Fine Art Photography graduate program at the University of South Florida from 1974-1975. She then opened a studio in New York City, shooting for Allied Chemical, Sylvania, Ortho, and other companies.
After five years in New York, Harris moved to Miami and opened a studio. She did photography, including ads, packaging, and billboards, for numerous national companies, including Entenmann’s, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Boboli, Thomas English Muffins, Pollo Tropical, Bacardi, Kraft Foods, Nuestra Gente Magazine, Aurafin and OroAmerica, CD Peacock, SA Peck, Sears, Omni magazine, Bride magazine, Baby Times Magazine, Blockbuster, and many others. She has had work exhibited in shows and galleries in Miami, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, San Francisco, New York, and other cities. In addition, she has had works commissioned by galleries and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Odyssia Marlbrough, Droll Kolbert, and Salander O’Reilly.
Harris was the first woman admitted into the South Florida chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers, and she was also the first person accepted upon the first review of her portfolio. She is also a member of the New Orleans Photo Alliance.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection contains 15 photographs of “The Fair”, 1 photograph of the Commodore Ralph Munroe Marine Stadium, 28 photographs depicting scenes and people in Miami and Key West, 1 photograph shot in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1 photograph shot in Greece, and 1 photograph shot in Santa Cruz, California .
“The Fair” is a collection of fifteen 9 x 12 inch prints depicting scenes from a fair. According to a description that accompanies the images, they embody “a sense of the dark, unknown, pockets of foreboding within the happy arena of a fair. It is a look into the dark recesses, the fake walls, the grungy barkers, the dangerous looking men that strap you into a ride.” Scenes include rides, games, and food stands, as well as an aerial view of a fair. The images are printed on acid free paper using Epson Ultrachrome inks.
The image of the Commodore Ralph Munroe Marine Stadium is a 17 x 22 inch color print depicting grandstand seating overlooking the water. The stadium was constructed on Virginia Key in the 1964 and was initially used for powerboat racing. The stadium closed in 1992 following Hurricane Andrew.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open for research.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Leslie Harris Photographs Finding Aid © 2010 University of Miami. Requests to reproduce or publish materials from this collection should be directed to asc.library@miami.edu.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Leslie Harris.