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Flo Fox

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Flo Fox
Fox in 1994, photo by Gigi Stoll
Born
Florence Blossom Fox

(1945-09-26)September 26, 1945
Woodside, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 2, 2025(2025-03-02) (aged 79)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationPhotographer

Florence Blossom Fox (/floʊ fɒks/; September 26, 1945 – March 2, 2025) was an American street photographer.[1][2] Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 30, Fox carried on working as a photographer despite being completely paralyzed, having attendants, friends, and strangers take photos for her with an autofocus camera.[3]

Life and career

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Fox was born in Woodside, New York. Throughout her career and with an archive of over 130,000 works, she photographed various subjects in New York City. Her work was in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum[4] and the Smithsonian.[5][6] Fox's 'zine, Ironic Reality, was published by Dashwood Books in 2023.[7] Her images have appeared in Life Magazine, New York Magazine[8] and been exhibited in Paris, London, Barcelona and Mexico. Fox had also been interviewed on several talks shows, including Regis and Kathy Lee and Tom Snyder.[9] Photographer Richard Young credited Fox with "giving [him] the confidence to pick up the camera".[10]

During the early 1980s, she hosted her own show called the Foto Flo Show, interviewing other photographers such as Ruth Orkin and Ralph Gibson on their work and their creative methods. Riley Hooper made a short documentary film, Flo, which was featured in The New York Times in 2013.[6]

Fox was a disability advocate and had taught photography class for the blind and visually impaired students at the Lighthouse for the Blind.[11] Despite blindness, multiple sclerosis, and lung cancer, she continued to photograph the streets of New York City.[12][10] Fox also appeared briefly as herself in the 2010 documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.

Fox died at her home in New York City on March 2, 2025, at the age of 79.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Rejino, Richard (April 19, 2020). "Flo Fox-My Favorite Images". International Leica Society. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Dullea, Georgia (April 5, 1980). "A Camera Does The Seeing for Her: Sight Began to Deteriorate Fragmented Images Arranged Loan of Cameras". The New York Times. ProQuest 121353840.
  3. ^ Frishberg, Hannah (March 6, 2015). "Meet Flo Fox, the Blind Photographer Who's Chronicled New York City for 40 Years". Curbed NY. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "Brooklyn Museum". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  5. ^ "Riverside Park Teens, 1980". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  6. ^ a b Hooper, Riley (October 21, 2013). "'Flo: Portrait of a Street Photographer'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  7. ^ "Ironic Reality by Flo Fox". Dashwood Books.
  8. ^ Raftery, Brian (August 12, 2010). "Second Sight". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Richardson, Clem (February 7, 2011). "Ex-Photog who never lost focus". New York Daily News. ProQuest 851799544.
  10. ^ a b Young, Richard (2007-10-27). "Photography guide: fashion & parties". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  11. ^ Iverem, Esther (March 4, 1990). "Queens Culture Stalking the Streets To Build Her Fortress". Newsday. ProQuest 278159410.
  12. ^ Stoll, Gigi (March 2021). "Flo Fox". Two by Two Media. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Roberts, Sam (March 9, 2025). "Flo Fox, Photographer Who Overcame Blindness and Paralysis, Dies at 79". New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
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