Los Angeles-based, award-winning photographer Greg Gorman – whose portraiture has been hailed for his extraordinary ability to capture a wide variety of expressions, approaching each session as a collaboration, and whose works have been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums internationally, including the J. Paul Getty Museum – plumbs his own psychological depths only to discover what makes him love work and life.
What historical art figure would you like to have lunch with and why? Andy Warhol, who I knew pretty well and worked with at Interview Magazine. He was truly able to bridge the gap between commercial and fine art and make it appear relevant. That was an art in itself.
What did you purchase with the proceeds from your first sale? My first sale was so long ago, it is almost impossible to remember what I would have purchased. Most likely it would have been more fishing gear! LOL!
What words or phrases do you overuse? There are probably too many to list here, but a few would include: Killer/ Unreal/ Over the Top. I guess I often speak in superlatives to emphasize a point.
How do you know when a work is finished? I often think I know when I have the capture but the truth be told, it usually surfaces after I have made my final edit and apply the tweaks to give it my own personal signature.
Godfathers: Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino
When and where were you happiest? Probably as a young boy growing up in Kansas before having to face the complexities of our world today!
What is your most treasured possession? If I was to rephrase this question so as not be taken wrong, I would say it is my plethora of good friends. I feel so fortunate to have a wide eclectic group of friends I can always count upon.
Where is your ideal escape destination? Always my annual trips to Saratoga, Wyoming to fish with my BFF floating down the North Platte with not a care in the world and nature at my footsteps.
What’s the worst survival job you’ve ever had? Actually, I had two! In high school, I sold Fuller Brush door to door to earn spare money, and during my transition to graduate school in Los Angeles, I drove a two-ton van delivering photographic supplies in East LA.
David Hockney, Malibu, 1989 Archival Pigment Print Signed, titled, dated, numbered verso
What TV series from your youth best describes your approach to life? People will laugh but it is in keeping with my ideal lifestyle and that was Spin and Marty, which was part of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I need to become a better listener than a talker because it is a much better way of learning about your friends and others.
What is your most treasured memory? My most treasured memory is spending my weekends as a very young boy with my Grandmother, who always encouraged my interests and took me on many museum field trips.
What makes you smile? What makes me smile the most is seeing my Kansas City Chiefs win their football games. As it relates however, to my career, it would be seeing the growth of my students when I am teaching my Master Classes.
Iman, Los Angeles, 1988 Archival Pigment Print Signed, titled, dated, numbered verso
What makes you cry? What makes me cry is seeing my Kansas City Chiefs lose their football games. And in the real world, the hideous state of affairs of the US government, which is truly hard to fathom.
What is your go-to drink when you toast to a sale? I don’t usually toast to a sale. Sales make me work harder on the next project at hand, but if I was to toast to a sale, my current libation of choice would be a spicy Margarita.
After an all-nighter, what’s your breakfast of champions? First of all ,I never have all nighters at 77. I never was a night person to begin with. I have always been a morning person as I am up before the sun!
Who inspires you? Because of my love of cooking, there are two great chefs who truly inspire me. First from my home town, Jasper Mirabile for his incredible passion for the art of Italian cuisine and secondly, Wolfgang Puck, who has managed to keep his cool, his down-to-earth sensibility and generosity with his patrons, while consistently delivering superb meals.
David Bowie, (with bowtie), ca. 1980’s Archival Pigment Print Signed, titled, dated, numbered verso
What’s your best quality? I feel my best quality is maintaining close long-term relationships with friends.
What’s your biggest flaw? I guess one of my biggest flaws is always arriving everywhere too early. As I get older, anxiety seems to get the best of me, and I always have to arrive everywhere incredibly early.
What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is focussing on the publication and release of my upcoming two monographs due out next fall.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement is making it to 77!
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? I would love to come back as my beloved French Bull Dog, Cyrill, who was a generous gift from my dear friend, Patrica Hearst.
Cover image: Greg Gorman Bass Fishing, photo by the late James Laube. The exhibition, The School of Los Angeles: Herb Ritts, Greg Gorman and Matthew Rolston, runs from October 1 through November 28, 2026 at Fahey/Klein Gallery,
