Robert Bagby plaques

Robert C. Bagby (1896-1972) was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 16, 1896. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1914, Bagby attended the Illinois College of Photography. He graduated in 1916 and moved to New York City where he worked for Stadler Photographic Company. In 1933, Bagby left Stadler to open his own commercial photography business, Robert Bagby Inc. A successful photographer, Bagby traveled around the world helping to shoot advertisements for various companies and organizations such as W. R. Grace & Company. Through his work, Bagby was able to travel to Canada, the Caribbean, South America, New Zealand, and the Far East, as well as throughout the United States.

In 1953, Bagby closed his firm in New York City and relocated to Rochester, NY. He had accepted a position at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as an associate professor in the university's School of Photography. Although Bagby taught a variety of photography courses at the Institute, his focus was on the field of color photography. While at RIT he published two instructional books for amateur photographers: Anscochrome and Ektachrome Processing at Home (1957) and Make Your Own Color Prints (1961). Bagby was promoted from associate professor to professor in 1966. He retired from the school in 1967, but continued to teach part-time until June 1972.

Throughout his career, Bagby established himself as a successful photographer in the field of color photography and photoillustration. He was awarded the honorary title of "Fellow" in the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1948. He died on August 4, 1972 in Santa Fe, NM.