From the Byways to the Highways: Rondal Partridge Photographs California 1936-1969

Rondal Partridge has been making photographs for most of his 85 years. He is the son of Imogen Cunningham, an apprentice to Ansel Adams, and protégé of Dorothea Lange. While all three famous photographers influenced him, Partridge's work is unique in its own right and is celebrated in the exhibition "From the Byways to the Highways: Rondal Partridge Photographs California 1936-1969."

Rondal Partridge began helping his mother, Imogen Cunningham, in the darkroom with her platinum printing when he was five. That early experience began his lifelong love for photography. During the 1930s, he worked as an assistant to Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange. Partridge was part of the WPA's National Youth Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression before striking out on his own.

"Photography is a life of learning," states Partridge, "that's all I want from photography. I don't want the money. I don't need the fame. I don't need the admiration. I'd like all of those things, but I don't need them. Because what I get from photographing is learning. I have spent my life learning by looking through a lens."

The exhibition is divided into six sections, each highlighting key photographic moments during his career. "Early Influences" features photos of Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and other famous photographers at work taken by Partridge. "California Rodeo" documents cowboys on the local rodeo circuit in 1936 when Partridge packed up his camera and spent a year traveling with the circuit. "Rural Depression" includes photographs of migrant workers and campgrounds shot on location with Dorothea Lange. "Urban Pastimes and Politics" documents the 1939 World's Fair on Treasure Island as well as Bay Area hangouts, including spots in Hayward, and the pre-World War II political scene. "Postwar Expansion" explores Partridge's fascination and despair with the post-World War II urban sprawl and how it affected the California landscape. Photographs in "Prosperity and Pollution" show the flip side to Ansel Adams' majesty of Yosemite and the California landscape, including the effect of overgrowth, pollution and urban sprawl of the 1960s on the environment.

The "From the Byways to the Highways: Rondal Partridge Photographs California, 1936-1969" exhibition tour was organized by Elizabeth Partridge and the California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA). It is based on an exhibition originally produced by the California Historical Society and the Oakland Museum of California. CERA is a network of professionally operated museums and cultural organizations that collaborate to create and tour smaller, affordable, high quality exhibitions that enhance civic engagement and human understanding. CERA is supported by generous grants from the James Irvine Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the California Council for the Humanities.