A surfer since 1931, LeRoy Grannis was born in Hermosa Beach, California in 1917 and began shooting surf-culture images on 22nd Street in Hermosa in 1960 as a hobby at the suggestion of a family doctor. His work immediately appeared in the important surf culture magazines of the time including Surfer, Reef and Surfing Illustrated, and he soon became one of the sport's most important documentarians.
Grannis was voted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame as the number one lensman in 1966, and in 2002, he was awarded SIMA's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the subject of The Surfers Journal's first ode to the master photographers in 1998 with Photo: Grannis; his work was featured in Stacy Peralta's 2002 award-winning documentary of the sport, Riding Giants; and in 2006, LeRoy Grannis: Birth of a Culture was published as a limited-edition, signed collector's edition monograph by TASCHEN. In 2005, M+B Gallery in Los Angeles gave Grannis his first art exhibition and since then, his photographs have been exhibited at galleries, art fairs and museums both at home and abroad, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London.
| BORN | |
| 1917 | |
| SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2015 | Solo presentation, Paris Photo Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2011 | LeRoy Grannis: Commemorative Show, M+B, Los Angeles, CA |
| LeRoy Grannis: The Black Portfolio, Van Horn Gallery, Duesseldorf, Germany | |
| 2009 | The Birth of Surf, 1960s and 1970s Documentary Photography of LeRoy Grannis, Dallas Center for Architecture, Dallas, Texas |
| 2007 | LeRoy Grannis: Big Waves, M+B, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2006 | LeRoy Grannis: Surfing’s Golden Age, M+B, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2005 | Birth of a Culture: LeRoy Grannis Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s, M+B, Los Angeles, CA |
| Birth of a Culture: LeRoy Grannis , Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY | |
| Birth of a Culture: LeRoy Grannis, Mark Borghi Fine Art, Bridgehampton, New York, NY | |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2016 | Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History 1843 to the Present, Brooklyn Museum, (forthcoming, July) |
| 2015 | Pacific Worlds, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA |
| A Fluid Journey, Southern Comfort Gallery (SOCO), Charlotte, NC | |
| 2011 | California Surf Museum, Oceanside, CA |
| Water, Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp, Belgium | |
| 2010 | This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in L.A. Photographs, Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France |
| 2009 | The Art of Caring: A Look at Life through Photography, New Orleans Museum of Art, LA |
| Hot Fun in the Summertime, Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York | |
| This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in L.A. Photographs, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland | |
| 2008 | This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in L.A. Photographs, The Huntington, CA |
| 2007 | Bad Behavior, Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Santa Barbara, CA |
| 2006 | 20/30 Vision: An Anniversary Celebration, Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2005 | Summertime Blues, M+B, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2003 | Ocean View: The Depiction of the Southern California Coastal Lifestyle, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA |
| PUBLICATIONS | |
| 2015 | “Dewey Weber sculpture by Phil Roberts arrives in Hermosa Beach,” Easy Reader News, October 2 |
| Cody, Kevin. “Hermosa Beach groundbreaking set for Dewey Weber surf statue, Easy Reader News, May 15 | |
| Nelson, Steffie. “The Distinct Californication of Paris Photo L.A.” The New York Times Style Magazine, May 1 | |
| 2011 | “Alerte nostalgie à Malibu,” Télérama, July 27 |
| “LeRoy Grannis and the Golden Age of Surfing,” TIME Lightbox, July 28 | |
| Nelson, Valerie J. “LeRoy Grannis dies at 93; photographer documented California surf Culture of the 1960s and ‘70s, February 5 | |
| 2010 | Getson, Eli M. “The Photography of LeRoy Grannis: Legendary Liver & Chronicler of California Surf Culture,” The Selvedge Yard, November 29 |
| 2007 | “Endless Summers,” The Smithsonian Magazine, June |
| 2006 | “Surf Art,” American Photo, October 10 |
| “The Wave Watcher”, C Magazine, August | |
| “Classic Moments in Surfing,” Los Angeles Times, June 13 | |
| “Back to the Beach,” New York Times, June 1 | |
| “Endless Summer,” Robb Report, May | |
| “Fanfair,” Vanity Fair, May | |
| 2005 | “The Listings,” New York Times, September 2 |
| “Old Wave,” Zoo Magazine, August | |
| “Enough Waves for Everyone,” Los Angeles Times, March 10 | |
| International Surfing | |
| New Yorker | |
| Reef Magazine | |
| The Smithsonian Magazine | |
| Surfer Magazine | |
| The Surfers Journal | |
| Surfing Illustrated | |
| Surfline | |
| Time Out New York | |
| TransWorld Surf | |
| AWARDS | |
| 2003 | Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame |
| 2002 | Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 1999 | Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame |
| 1993 | Eddie Aikau/Quiksilver Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 1991 | International Surfing Hall of Fame |
| 1960s | Life Magazine, First Prize for Action Sports Photo |
| 1966 | International Surfing Hall of Fame, “Number One Lensman” |
| MONOGRAPHS | |
| 2013 | LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s, TASCHEN |
| 2008 | LeRoy Grannis: Birth of a Culture, TASCHEN |
| LeRoy Grannis: Birth of a Culture, Limited Edition, TASCHEN | |
| This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in Los Angeles Photographs, Museum Show Catalog | |
| 2006 | LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s, TASCHEN |
| 1998 | Photo: Grannis: Surfing’s Golden Age, 1960 - 1969, The Surfer’s Journal |
| COLLECTION | |
| Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles | |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California | |
| National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC | |
| Artists First, Los Angeles | |
| AW Entertainment, Paris, France | |
| Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Los Angeles | |
| Four Seasons, Maui, Hawaii | |
| Fox, Los Angeles | |
| The Gersh Agency, Los Angeles | |
| Hard Rock Hotel Group, Los Angeles | |
| The Huntington Library, San Marino, California | |
| James Perse, Los Angeles | |
| Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Paris, France | |
| Morgan Stanley, New York | |
| Partizan, Paris, France | |
| TASCHEN, Germany | |
| United Talent Agency, Los Angeles | |
| 19 Entertainment, London, United Kingdom and Los Angeles | |