Filmmakers

Willard Van Dyke (1906–1986) was an influential American photographer, documentary filmmaker, and film administrator. He began his career in photography and was a founding member of Group f/64 with Ansel Adams and Edward Weston before turning to documentary film in the 1930s. His films included The City (1939), Valley Town (1940), and The Photographer (1948). With Irving Lerner, Van Dyke produced and directed To Hear Your Banjo Play (1946), written by Alan Lomax and featuring Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and other traditional and folk-revival musicians. Van Dyke later served as director of the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art from 1965 to 1974. To Hear Your Banjo Play was reportedly one of his personal favorite films.