The D. James Galbraith Photographic Collection is a selection of his work that primarily contains prints, negatives, and slides. The content of Galbraith's photographs is vast, but most reflect various aspects of everyday life throughout the state of Michigan. The collection is arranged into four series: Business Records, Hartland Project, and Private Photography, and Oversize.
D. James (Jim) Galbraith (1930-2002) was a photographer who is noted for documenting life in Hartland, Michigan. Galbraith was born May 26, 1930 in Ann Arbor, Mich., and later attended Ann Arbor High School. At the onset of the Korean War, the United States Air Force drafted Galbraith into its ranks shortly after his graduation and stationed him in Alaska as an aerial photographer. He enrolled in courses at the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) but left before completing his degree.
Galbraith used the photography skills he acquired in the military to begin a successful career as a photojournalist for the Ann Arbor News. His first published photograph, a picture of two men at the New York Central Railroad stop in Ann Arbor entitled "Waiting for the Morning Train," graced the newspaper's front cover on November 12, 1954. Galbraith spent the next three decades of his career with stints between the Ann Arbor News, the Brighton Argus and the Livingston County Press.
During the course of his career, Galbraith also devoted time to several professional organizations, including the Hartland Art Council (Chairperson and Board Member), Metro Detroit News Photographers' Association (Vice President), and the Michigan Press Photographers' Association (President and Board of Directors). Other memberships included the Michigan Oral History Council, the Ann Arbor Art Association, and the American Association for State and Local History. In addition, Galbraith delivered guest lectures at the Center for Creative Studies (Detroit), the University of Michigan, and Washtenaw Community College.
Following a successful career as a photojournalist, Galbraith embarked on a career as a commercial photographer, opening his own studio, Galbraith Photography, in East Jordan, Mich. His 1985 book Hartland: Change in the Heart of America garnered a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Photo documentary. His photographic work was accepted and displayed in countless juried art competitions across the country; among them the 1988 Ann Arbor State Street Art Festival for which he was awarded the Purchase Award. Galbraith photographed not only families, schools, churches throughout the state of Michigan but also was commissioned for artists such as Aaron Copland and Dame Judith Anderson.
On July 21, 2002 Galbraith died in Antrim County, Mich. at the age of 72. Since his death, art galleries and art exhibitions have continued to showcase Galbraith's work.
