Jesse Kalisher’s first camera arrived on his sixth birthday as a present from his father, celebrated photographer Simpson Kalisher. A darkroom soon followed.
In addition to private collections throughout the world, Jesse’s photography is in the permanent collections of many museums including The Louvre, The Smithsonian, The George Eastman House, The de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston and many more. The first photographs of Barack Obama acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History were Jesse’s. Jesse’s fine art reproductions also fill top hotels across the nation.
Jesse’s book, “If You Find the Buddha,” was published by Chronicle Books and released in 2006 to great reviews. The book includes 93 color images that Jesse captured in both the U.S. and in Thailand, each of which depicts Buddha as part of everyday life.
Jesse is on the faculty at the Maine Media Workshops where he teaches an advanced course in black and white photography. In 2010, Jesse created and led his inaugural Tahiti Photography Workshop in partnership with Paul Gauguin cruises. In 2011, Jesse is slated to lead The Tahiti Photography Workshop, a workshop in Alaska in partnership with Silver Seas Cruises.
“I am fascinated by the world we live in,” Kalisher says, “and I consider myself lucky to be able to photograph it.”
