Al Richter
(1921-1992)
Alfred Richter was born in Utica, Minnesota, the youngest of five children. He attended the University of Minnesota for two years and then enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in December 1941 and was stationed in San Francisco. The family farm was sold around that time due to the death of his father so his mother and two sisters moved to California to live near him.
Richter was Honorably Discharged from service in December 1945. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in June 1947 with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. While there, he was a free-lance photographer. He made a project of taking pictures of all his classes and professors, the dean of his college, the president of the university, and the governor. He was the official photographer for special meetings, retreats, and conventions. This ability was called on again while he attended the CSFA.
Richter was accepted into the photography class of fall 1947 at the CSFA. One of the questions Minor White and Ansel Adams asked prospective photo students was if they would be willing to accept a mediocre wage in order to follow a career of photography? Richter stated that his primary goal in photography was the art itself, not the big money supposedly available to certain classes of photographers. If money were the object, he said, he would have accepted a business position following his graduation from UC Berkeley rather than enrolling at the CSFA.
Richer was one of the students who created a photo legacy of many of the classes, instructors, and events at the CSFA. Thanks to this work we have a richer historical pictoral snapshot of the school during that early period of the CSFA Photography Department.
Richter was employed as a purchasing agent by Alpha Photo in Oakland, California for his entire career. He never married. He took care of his mother and sisters until they passed away. He died December 25, 1992, in Oakland, California.
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