Jay Maisel, one of America’s most influential photographers and the subject of the 2018 documentary Jay Myself, has died at 95. Maisel began his photography career in 1954 after studying painting and graphic design at Cooper Union and Yale. Over the following decades, he photographed figures including Marilyn Monroe and Miles Davis, while developing a distinctive body of work built around the observation of light, color, form and gesture in everyday life.
His commercial career included five Sports Illustrated swimsuit covers, the first two covers of New York Magazine, and the iconic cover of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. He also worked with United Technologies for 12 years and received recognition from organizations including the International Center of Photography, American Society of Media Photographers, Art Directors Club, Professional Photographers of America and Cooper Union.
Maisel stepped away from commercial photography in the late 1990s but remained deeply engaged with his personal work. Through lectures and workshops across the country, he also became known as a generous and influential teacher, encouraging generations of photographers to look more carefully at the visual world around them.
His photographs continue to be held in private, corporate and museum collections, while his approach to seeing—particularly his attention to light and color—remains an enduring part of his legacy.