Jack Rowell

In his portraits and scenes of rural life, Jack captures a society in transition, where survival depends on timeless virtues—creativity, resilience—and a certain amount of luck. His photography is part of Vermont's cultural heritage, but its importance transcends our state boundaries. As Americans struggle through one of the most divisive periods in our nation’s history, Jack’s work is a reminder that the human story is one of both hardship and triumph, and that to see ourselves as we truly are demands love, humor, irony, and respect.

Korongo's first coffee-table book is a 12-by-14-inch hardcover volume of portraits that span Jack's 55-year career. It ranges from seventies-era glimpses of life in tiny Tunbridge, Vermont, Jack's boyhood home, to the powerful nudes and studio portraits that mark the zenith of his career. Vermont artist Kate Mueller worked closely with Rowell on the book’s design; printing was handled by Penmor Lithographers in Lewiston, Maine. The decision, approved by Rowell, to go with a New England printer was a matter of pride: It just didn’t seem right that a book featuring the life's work of a fifth-generation Vermonter would arrive on a boat from China.

Jack Rowell was born and raised in central Vermont and has been a professional photographer for over fifty-five years, making a living shooting documentary, commercial, and advertising photographs. His work has appeared in publications such as People Weekly, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Economist, and The Times of London.