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Peter Gowland
Peter Gowland
Born	Peter Andrew Gowland; April 3, 1916; Los Angeles, California, United States
Died	March 17, 2010 (aged 93); Pacific Palisades, California, United States
Occupation	Glamour photographer
Years active	1936–1966
Spouse	Alice Adams (m. 1941);
Children	2
Parent(s)	Gibson Gowland; Sylvia Andrew
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	Army of the United States
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Sergeant, Photographer
Awards	WWII campaign, good conduct and service medals;
Website	http://petergowland.com

Peter Andrew Gowland (April 3, 1916 – March 17, 2010) was a famous American glamour photographer and actor.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was known for designing and building his own studio equipment and was active professionally for six decades with his business partner, Alice Beatrice Adams, whom he married in 1941.^[4]

Career

Gowland shot more than 1,000 magazine covers, mostly glamour shots of female models like Mary Morlas, Joy Langstaff, and Barbara Osterman, but also portraits of celebrities including Rock Hudson and Robert Wagner.^[5] His covers included Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Modern Photography. He invented elite cameras and equipment that he used to shoot pinups and magazine covers. In the late 1950s, Gowland also invented the twin-lens Gowlandflex camera, which used 4-by-5 inch film for high-quality pictures. The camera has since been used by such photographers as Annie Leibovitz and Yousuf Karsh.

Gowland grew up on movie sets and worked as a film extra in his youth. He learned photo lighting and techniques from watching movies being shot. The son of Gibson Gowland and Sylvia Andrew, both actors, he acted in at least 12 films, mostly uncredited. He had a small part in Citizen Kane.^[1] He died of surgical complications after fracturing his hip.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice

The 1971 human anatomy textbook The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice featured photographs by Gowland in the surface anatomy section. The book was authored by professors R. Frederick Becker, James S. W. Wilson, and John A. Gehweiler, and was met with scandal and a feminist boycott, which resulted in the withdrawal by the publisher after only 5000 copies were distributed.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Bibliography

Classic Nude Photography, ISBN 1-58428-040-9
Peter Gowland's New Handbook of Glamour Photography, ISBN 0-517-56898-5
The Secrets of Photographing Women
Gowland's Guide to Glamour Photography
How to Photograph Women 1954 Crown, 7 printings
Art & Technique of Stereo Photography 1954 Crown, LCCN 54011184
Stereo Photography 1954 Crown, LCCN 54006642
Figure Photography 1954 Fawcett, 600,000 sold
How to Take Glamour Photos 1955 Fawcett
Glamour Techniques 1958 Fawcett
Photo Secrets 1958 Whitestone
Glamour Camera 1959 Fawcett
Face & Figure 1959 Fawcett
How to Take Better Home Movies 1960 ARCO
Guide to Electronic Flash 1960 Amphoto
Photo Ideas 1961 Whitestone
Peter Gowland Photographs the Figure 1962 Whitestone
Camera in Hawaii 1963 Whitestone
Camera in Japan 1964 Whitestone
Figure Quarterly 1965 Development Corp
Guide to Glamour Photography 1972 Crown, 16 printings
Electronic Flash Simplified 1976 Amphoto, 7 printings
Basic Glamour 1979 School of Modern Photography
The Secrets of Photographing Women 1981 Crown, 6 printings
New Handbook of Glamour Photography 1988 Crown - Random House
Henry Miller Portfolio 18 unbound prints 2000 Roger Jackson Publisher
Classic Nude Photography 2001 Amherst Media, Inc.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1936	The Adventures of Frank Merriwell	Himself
1936	The Great Ziegfeld	Dancer	Uncredited
1936	Cain and Mabel	Dancer	Uncredited
1936	Born to Dance	Dancer	Uncredited
1937	Hot Water	College Boy	Uncredited
1939	Wuthering Heights	Dancer	Uncredited
1941	Citizen Kane	Guest	Uncredited
1946	13 Rue Madeleine		Uncredited
1947	The Secret Life of Walter Mitty	R.A.F. Pilot	Uncredited
1948	Joan of Arc	Soldier	Uncredited
1949	You're My Everything	Leading Man	Uncredited
1966	The Swinger	Photographer	Uncredited, (final film role)

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Associated Press, March 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b New York Times, April 1, 2010.
^ ^a ^b New York Times, April 5, 2010, p. A17.
^ "About Alice".
^ Samuel Claesson (January 31, 2025). Glamour: Models, Mannequins, and Pinups of the 1950s. Sequoia Press. p. 142. ISBN 9798350736847.
^ Halperin, February 2009, pp. 278–283.
^ Halperin, May 29, 2007.
^ Halperin, November 19, 2008.

References

"About Alice". Alice & Peter Gowland Photography. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

Associated Press (March 29, 2010). "Fashion Photographer Peter Gowland Dies at 93". Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010 – via Wayback Machine.

Halperin, Edward C., MD (interviewee) (May 29, 2007). "Edward Halperin Oral History Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Jessica Roseberry, Oral History Program Coordinator. Duke University Medical Center Archives. Retrieved September 18, 2013.{{cite interview}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Transcript. 29 May 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2013 – via MEDSpace Digital Repository.

Halperin, Edward C., MD (November 19, 2008). "Medical Dean Explores History of Teaching Anatomy – Halperin Says 1970s Textbook It Was in 'Wrong Place at Wrong Time'" (news release). Edward C. Halperin, MD, Dean of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. University of Louisville. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014 – via Wayback Machine.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Halperin, Edward C., MD (February 2009). "The Pornographic Anatomy Book? The Curious Tale of the Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice". Academic Medicine. 84 (2): 278–283. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e31819391e2. PMID 19174685.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ISSN 1040-2446 (publication); OCLC 7007614736, 431042669 (article).

Los Angeles Times. "Obituaries: Peter Gowland, 1916–2010; Glamor Photographer Made Own Gear". ISSN 0458-3035 (publication).

Blog version (Los Angeles Times blog). May 28, 1929.
Print version (Los Angeles Times blog). Vol. 129. May 28, 1929. p. A38 (digital image 28) – via Newspapers.com. ProQuest 422317058 (US Newsstream) (article)
Via ProQuest (US Newsstream). Vol. 129. May 29, 1929. p. A24.

New York Times (The); Martin, Douglas (April 1, 2010). "Peter Gowland, Pinup Photographer and Author, Dies at 93" (New York Times blog). Retrieved March 29, 2010. ProQuest 2218915676.

New York Times (The); Martin, Douglas (April 5, 2010). "Peter Gowland, 93, a Photographer Whose Women Graced 1,000 Walls". The New York Times (online version of print edition). (Late ed.; East Coast). p. 17 (Section A). ISSN 0362-4331 (publication); ProQuest 434354731 (article) (US Newsstream database).