Clothesline, 2015, archival pigment print, 29×29
Michael Knapstein (b. 1956) is a fine-art photographer who has earned international recognition for his insightful and nuanced visual exploration of the American Midwest. His photographs began attracting national attention while he was still in high school. At the age of 17, he was the youngest photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Steenbock Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters in Madison, Wisconsin. The following year his work was accepted into the permanent collections of the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York and Nikon House in New York City. While attending college, his work continued to win national recognition and was included in the Photographic Society of America’s prestigious Young Photographer’s Showcase national traveling exhibit for three years in a row.
After graduating from the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Knapstein began a 30+ year career in the world of advertising. He held a variety of creative and leadership positions, ultimately heading one of Wisconsin’s largest advertising agencies. Knapstein sold his agency and retired from the demanding world of advertising in 2010 to return to his first love of photography. Since this reemergence, Michael’s work has been recognized with more than 250 awards in some of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions and his photographs have been widely published and exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.