From an early age, American photographer Paul A. McDonough displayed a natural gift for making art, a talent he shared with childhood friend, noted photographer Tod Papageorge. Although trained as painter, McDonough became restless in the studio and wanted to get out in the world. “Photography not only let him do that, it encouraged his need to roam,” says Yona McDonough, the photographer’s wife.
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After dreaming of moving to New York City, McDonough finally arrived in 1967. “It was every bit as wonderful and exhilarating as he’d imagined,” says Yona. “Paul said that the constant activity, flowing, ebbing, bubbling over, was like a kind of endlessly unfolding theatre and all he had to do was walk and wait – it would all come to him.”
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A true flâneur, McDonough would walk the streets of New York for six hours or more, meeting up with Garry Winogrand and Papageorge before continuing his journey. Inspired by the work of Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Eugène Atget and Bill Brandt, McDonough understood that he could create art anywhere he ventured.
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