The story of George Forss is the story of genius thriving against all odds. He was born into a poor family in the Bronx, his father was gone when he was very young, his mother could not care for him and he was raised in a Staten Island orphanage, his brother was nearly destroyed by extreme schizophrenia.

George started taking photos when he was very young and after he became an agoraphobic and stayed in his mother’s apartment for seven. He sold his photos on the streets of Manhattan, dodging the police and asking $5 a picture. He was discovered there by the famous photographer David Douglas Duncan, who brought him to his editors at Time Magazine. George became one of the most celebrated urban landscape photographers in the world, he was acclaimed by the most famous photographers in the world, his work was praised in Time Magazine, by the BBC, he was on the Today Show.

He moved to Cambridge New York in the late 80’s, he opened an art gallery here, he is well known and much beloved. He has a blog, writes books, take brilliant photos, I am so lucky and proud to have him as a friend. He also sells some print versions of his amazing photographs, check them out. I just bought one for $40.