Ryszard Horowitz was born in Krakow, Poland on May 5th, 1939. Four months later the Nazis had invaded his homeland and his entire family ended up being sent to a series of concentration camps. He and his parents miraculously survived and at the war’s end were amongst the few Jewish families who were able to establish their life in Krakow. Ryszard Horowitz is one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz. Ryszard studied at the High School of Fine Arts and then went on the major in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts at his home city.

In 1956, during a brief political and cultural thaw in Poland, the government awarded subsidies to encourage new and original art forms and Krakow suddenly emerged as a centre of avant-grade jazz, painting, theater and filmmaking. Ryszard, who was seventeen at the time, took full advantage of being at the heart of the action and consequently became fascinated with American Photography. In 1959, he finally achieved his ambition at emigrating to the United States and enrolled at New York famed Pratt Institute. He fell love with American photography and became known as one of the most creative photographers in New York City.

Ryszard was one of the pioneers of multiple image photography. He did this through both camera techniques and dark room manipulations. The result was multiple advertising contracts with the biggest players in New York City. While a student at Pratt, he was given a scholarship to be apprenticed to Alexy Brodovitch, one of the most influential figures in the world of editorial design and photography at the time. After graduating from Pratt in 1962, Ryszard then worked for a number of film and design companies and as an art director for Grey Advertising. In November 1967, he opened his own photography studio. Photography would be his lifelong career and passion.

In the ensuing four decades his work has been exhibited, collected and published around the world and Ryszard has been awarded every major accolade that can be bestowed on a photographer. He is recognized as a pioneer of special effects photography predating digital imagining. Today after forty years of successful photography Ryszard Horowitz is still active in advertising and fine art, and stock photography. His ideas and concepts are just as creative now as they were when he opened his New York City studio in 1967.