Background
G. Eric Matson was born on June 16, 1888, in Dalarna, Sweden. Matson's family emigrated to Palestine in 1896 to join a small American commune founded in 1881.
G. Eric Matson was born on June 16, 1888, in Dalarna, Sweden. Matson's family emigrated to Palestine in 1896 to join a small American commune founded in 1881.
In 1898 Wilhelm II of Germany visited the colony, and the American Colony Photo Department was formed to meet the demand for photographic mementos of the state visit. It was there that Matson and his Kansas-bom wife to be worked and learned. They married in 1924, and took over the photo department in 1934, renaming it the Matson Photo Service. Terrorist activities caused them to flee to the United States in 1946, where they continued working together until Edith Matson's death.
Matson successfully used oil paints for hand-coloring and pioneered the use of both the Finlay and Lumière color processes. Five thousand of his photographs have survived, showing the dramatic changes that swept over Palestine and the Middle East during World War I. An exceptional series documents the disastrous locust plagues of 1915 and 1930.
Quotes from others about the person
The photographer's meticulous attention to technique, artistic quality and technological innovation, according to Rune Hassner (The Middle East), should place him "among the foremost documentary photographers of his time."
Mr. Matson worked in the photographic department along with Edith Yantiss. Soon, their professional partnership turned into a personal relationship, and the couple married in 1924.