Tony Decaneas

American 1946 – 

Tony Decaneas started Panopticon in 1970. The company, now doing business under the name Decaneas Archive, began as a high quality black & white custom lab, with the idea that the lab would fund his personal photography. In an effort to stay close to the art of photography (and further complicate his schedule), he opened the gallery a year later.

During Decaneas’ ownership, Panopticon Gallery reflected the specific photographic interests of its owner: humanistic documentary photography with occasional forays into lyrical and narrative landscapes. Common ingredients are people, places, beauty and observations on the human condition.

He authored the book: Bradford Washburn  Mountain Photography, published by Mountaineers Books.  He helped package two books for Ernest C. Withers: The Memphis Blues Again, published by Viking Books, and Negro League Baseball, published by Harry N. Abrams. In 1987, he also published his book Pavlia, Portrait of A Greek Village – a collection of photographs taken in his father’s village in Greece.  His publishing company, Panopticon Press, also published two portfolios of Ernest Withers photographs:  I Am A Man, a portfolio of ten Civil Rights photographs was published in 1994.  The Memphis Blues Again, a portfolio of ten music related photographs was published in 2004.

When time allows for his own photography, Decaneas tends to work on selected projects over periods of time. Some projects include: Photographs of Greece, Ten Days in Eastern Europe – 1990, Photographs on Mount Athos, Greece, and most recently Portraits of America from a Moving Train.