Biography
Amy Stanford Gaskin is a photographer and journalist based in Los Angeles. Extraordinary access is a hallmark of her images, which she earns by spending time with the people she photographs. She strives to capture intimacy and truth in her art.
Her new book Marilyn Forever! Marilyn Monroe—A Symbol of Hope documents and illustrates the personal reasons people are inspired by Marilyn Monroe for reasons far beyond her stardom. During the early days of the pandemic, she happened upon Marilyn’s crypt, where she was surprised to find wet lipstick marks decorating her resting place while the majority of the world was standing six feet apart. She began to interview and photograph visitors at her grave. Many shared stories of how memories of Marilyn’s remarkable attributes and actions helped them through the toughest of times. Perhaps the most surprising discovery was that many identify with the trauma of her abuse, adoption and foster care, while others consider her a civil rights icon for the Black and LGBTQ+ communities. Marilyn’s memory lives on in surprising ways through countless people around the world who are connected and inspired by her enduring legacy.
National Geographic, The Washington Post, STERN Magazine, The Guardian, Associated Press, BloodHorse, CBS, ABC, Los Angeles Times, and others have featured her work.
Awards include: Four-time National winner, American Photographic Artists (APA); Best of American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP); First Place, International Color Awards; Lucie Foundation (MOPLA); International Photography Awards; International Color Awards; Leica Award and FujiFilm Awards: Palm Springs International Photo Festival; Critical Mass, Top 50 winner.
Her images have been selected for group shows by jurors from major museums and photographic organizations around the world, including the J. Paul Getty Museum; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Elizabeth Avedon, and others.
Especially close to her heart is the story of the Last Holocaust Survivor of Trochenbrod, Poland: Betty Gold, as well as her portrait series “Living Rough”.
Long-term projects are a passion: While covering horse racing, she chose a juvenile horse and elderly trainer to feature who, at the time, were not well-known. That horse was California Chrome, who has since gone on to make history and has become the richest winner in North American history. She documented his journey to the Triple Crown races including the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The gallery of her images rose to second position on Google, behind Sports Illustrated’s.
Her horse racing images are in the permanent collection and display at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Her current project about Marilyn Monroe has been recognized by American Photographic Artists, Best of ASMP, International Color Awards, Critical Mass Top 50, and many others.
She is President Emerita of the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles (PPAGLA), a 90-year-old organization comprised of over 400 members of the broadcast and still visual news media working in the Greater Los Angeles area.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern and her Masters of Business Administration at USC (MBA) where she was awarded the Captain Winifred Q. Collins United States Navy Endowed Fellowship - a full-tuition merit award.
In 2024, she was inducted into the Council of One Hundred at Northwestern University, an organization of the university’s 100 distinguished living female graduates.
For more about Amy's work visit, amygaskin.com