Earl Dotter

Earl Lester Dotter
Born	(1943-07-24) July 24, 1943 (age 81) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Alma mater	San Jose State College
Occupation	Photographer
Spouse	Deborah Stern
Children	4

Earl Dotter (born July 24, 1943) is an American occupational photographer best known for documenting some of America's most dangerous jobs, including coal mining, textile manufacturing, asbestos, emergency responders at the World Trade Center site, and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work is included in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.[1][2][3]

Education

Dotter graduated from San Jose State College in 1967. While attending he purchased a Rolleiflex camera and started photographing the San Francisco Bay Area.[2] By 1968 Dotter entered the School of Visual Arts in New York City.[1] The next year he became a AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer.[4]

Career

Dotter documented dangerous mine work and black lung disease for the United Mine Workers of America. Many labor unions and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have used his work. He has also participated in the Great Labor Arts Exchange.[1] Dotter's photographs have been featured on the cover of New York Magazine and in The Saturday Evening Post.[5]

One of Dotter's photographs was used on social media without permission as part of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, according to the Mueller report.[6]

Dotter taught photography at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy and has been a visiting scholar with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for 25 years.[7] His photography archive is being acquired by Duke University Libraries' David M. Rubenstein Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.[2]

Personal life

Dotter's wife, Deborah Stern, is a labor lawyer. They have been married 37 years and have four children.[1]

Awards

• 1976: National Magazine Award for The United Mine Workers Journal, sponsored by Columbia School of Journalism
• 1988: Leica Medal of Excellence Award, National Capital Region
• 2001: American Public Health Association’s Alice Hamilton Award[8]
• 2015: Lifetime Achievement Award from New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• 2016: Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s Tribute of Inspiration Award

Bibliography

• In Mine and Mill: A Photographic Portfolio of Coal Miners and Textile Workers. 1980. Pilgrim Press. ISBN 978-0829803884
• The Quiet Sickness: A Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America. 1998. ISBN 978-0932627858
• Life’s Work: A 50 Year Photographic Chronicle of Working in the U.S.A. 2018. Published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association. ISBN 978-1935082897
• Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners and the Struggle over Black Lung Disease. 2020. Written by Barbara Ellen Smith. Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1642592757

References

1. Traiger, Lisa (2022-08-17). "The singular focus of Earl Dotter". Washington Jewish Week.
2. "Earl Dotter Presents: A Life's Work in Occupational & Environmental Health Photography". Supporting Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals. som.org.uk. 2023.
3. Monforton, Celeste (2018-09-21). "Their work, his work: 50 years of photographs by Earl Dotter". The Pump Handle.
4. "About Earl Dotter". Earl Dotter.
5. Moore, John (2016-06-09). "Photo exhibit June 14–16 at UT Health Northeast documents perils of American workers". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Tyler, Texas.
6. Paul, Deanna (2019-04-22). "Russians used a photo of his father as pro-Trump propaganda. He saw it in the Mueller report". The Washington Post.
7. "Earl Dotter, BA". Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Harvard University. 4 August 2022.
8. "Earl Dotter Received The Alice Hamilton Award". The Alicia Patterson Foundation. 29 December 2000. Retrieved 2023-11-30.