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JEFFERS ART STUDIO ( 1903 - 1970 ) |
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This family business operated as a commercial,
portrait and fine art, photographic studio and was in continuous operation
from 1903 to 1973. For
70 years, Jeffers’ Photographic Art Studio was the studio of choice for anyone
visiting or living in Olympia , Washington.
Today their photographs are in many permanent displays around the US; on the
Washington State Capitol Campus ~
from the Governor’s Office to the Supreme Court; in corporate collections such
as Weyerhaeuser, IBM, Miller Brewing Company, and Boeing; In private collections
such as Geraldine Chaplin to Madonna; and, are esteemed in
numerous museum collections.
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JEFFERS STUDIO ~ EXTENDED STORY
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JOSEPH
JEFFERS (1882-1924) |
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Joe Jeffers was an
artist-adventurer-businessman who witnessed and captured a Puget Sound as it
developed from wilderness to communities. Joe was a fascinating personality; a
man who lived a life full in the Jazz Age of the PNW. His early logging
camps & railroading are beautiful PhotoArt documents. He traveled the Southern
Sound on motorcycle and climbed the Olympic Mt. Ranges with heavy wooded boxes.
His early photos of the National Park's wilderness areas established its
grandeur in the eyes of the nation. But, the risks he took to get into
backcountry and bring back views of a natural world no human, Indian or White,
had ever seen before proved deadly and he was forever taken into the mountain in
1924 in his 40th year.
His body, never recovered, lies still within
its depths. Jeffers Glacier on the south side of Mt. Olympus is named in
his honor. Some of Joe's last photographs were brought back by his son,
Vibert, who was with him on his last trip and were sold through his friend and
contemporary, Asahel Curtis, in Curtis' Seattle photographic art studio.
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JOE JEFFERS
PHOTO GALLERY
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Olympic Mountain Tragedy ~ Jeffers' Glacier
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The tragic death of celebrated PNW photographer Joe Jeffers
on Mt. Olympus
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OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS PHOTO GALLERY
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OPAL PRIGMORE JEFFERS (1854-1972)
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Joe's wife, Opal Prigmore Jeffers, took up the
cameras and carried on their family business until handing it over to their son,
Vibert in 1930. Opal like many other women, worked at her husband's side in the
family business that they established together. She also did the tedious
darkroom work, studio portraits and the artistic hand tinting on the black &
white prints, and, of course did office work. |
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OPAL JEFFERS PHOTO GALLERY
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VIBERT
JEFFERS (1905-1975) |
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Vibe grew up in the family photo studio. The photography
business was no different than most other small businesses ~ families lived and
worked together. He was holding the rope when his father, photographer Joe
Jeffers, died on photo-expedition.
Coming of age in the Roaring Twenties, Vibe sought to escape his
haunted past and see the world by sail. Although he had loftier
aspirations, Vibe returned to his birthplace, married a local beauty and made a
major contribution to the art of the Pacific Northwest.
Much of his unique eye and style grew out of professional studies at the film
noire center in southern California where he learned from the masters of
Hollywood lighting.
When "Vibe" retired in 1973 the Jeffers family
had left behind a legacy of approximately 250,000 negatives. The subject
matter is extensive. Hundreds of images of the State Capitol Campus, including
the construction of the Capitol Campus buildings, political and governmental
events and the people involved are an important part of this valuable Photograph
Collection.
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VIBERT JEFFERS PHOTO GALLERY
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