From Kroonstad to the world stage

Samuel (Sam) Joseph Haskins was born in Kroonstad in 1926. His father, Ben, was a goods inspector for the South African Railways. After finishing school, Sam attended Johannesburg Technical College, where he studied art. In 1949 he left for London, studying at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts. He returned to South Africa in 1951. The following year he married Alida Elzabe van Heerden. Sam started working as a photographer in Johannesburg, opening a studio that was the first in South Africa aimed at the advertising sector. He held his first solo exhibition in 1960, showing his black and white photographs at John Orr’s in Johannesburg. Next, he published four books - Five Girls (1962), Cowboy Kate (1964), November Girl (1966) and African Image (1967). In 1968 the couple left for London, with their children Ludwig and Konrad. Today Sam Haskins is one of the world's top photographers who is known for turning back and white photographs into an art form. His book, Cowboy Kate and Other Stories, has sold more than a million copies world-wide. He is the only photographer to have been asked more than once by Pentax to photograph their calendar. Of their 30 calendars, Sam has photographed 15. In 2000 Sam moved to Bowral, near Sydney, in Australia.