James Lyle Enyeart

James Lyle Enyeart, an internationally respected curator, scholar, photographer, and leading figure in the curation and promotion of the photographic arts, passed away on November 28, 2025, at the age of 82. His remarkable career, spanning more than four decades, helped shape the preservation, study, and creative evolution of photography around the world.

James served as the Founding Director of the Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts at the College of Santa Fe from 1995 to 2002, where he also held the Ann and John Marion Endowed Professorship. His vision and leadership established the Center as a significant national institution for photographic education and artistic innovation.

From 1989 to 1995, James was Director of the George Eastman House: International Museum of Photography and Moving Images, where he strengthened the museum’s global reach and reinforced its standing as a premier institution dedicated to the history and future of photography and film. Prior to that, he led the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona from 1977 to 1989, expanding its collections and scholarly influence and helping to solidify its reputation as one of the most important archives of photographic masters.

Earlier roles included serving as Director of the Friends of Photography in Carmel, California, in the mid-1970s and as Curator of Photography at the University of Kansas from 1968 to 1976. Throughout his academic appointments, he also held professorships, nurturing the next generation of artists, curators, and scholars.

James’ contributions to the field were recognized with numerous international honors, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He received the Josef Sudek Medal from Czechoslovakia, the Photographic Society of Japan Achievement Award, and the Photokina Obelisk from Cologne—affirming the global appreciation of his scholarly and artistic achievements.

James was also a noted documentary photographer. While Curator of Photography at the University of Kansas Museum of Art in the 1970s, he spearheaded a groundbreaking photography project with Terry Evans and Larry Schwarm, No Mountains in the Way: Kansas Survey, which was supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The works were exhibited decades later, in 2016, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Wichita Art Museum.

A prolific author, he wrote extensively on photography and visual culture, with books published by Knopf, Little, Brown & Co., Harry Abrams, Arena Editions, and the University of New Mexico Press, among others. His own photographs are held in major collections, including the National Museum of American Art, the George Eastman House, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and the Sheldon Memorial Gallery at the University of Nebraska.

James was preceded in death by his parents Emma and Lyle Enyeart and his daughter Sacha, and is survived by his wife of 61 years, Roxanne Enyeart Malone; his daughters, Mara Weisenberger and Megan Malone, and son-in-law Jake Weisenberger; his siblings, Morris, Carolyn, and David; and his beloved grandchildren and great-granddaughter. He will be dearly missed by his family and remembered not only for his extraordinary professional accomplishments but also for his deep curiosity, generous mentorship, and the lasting impact he had on colleagues, students, and friends across the world of photographic arts.

 James also loved training and riding his horses. The family invites those wishing to honor his memory to consider contributing to The Horse Shelter using the following link www.thehorseshelter.org and mentioning the donation is in memory of James Enyeart.

A service will be held on March 26, 2026 at 11:00 AM at The Basilica of St. Francis in Santa Fe, NM.