Alton Anderson collection of dog photography

Alton Anderson (d.1982) was a New York-based photographer whose portraits of dogs adorned many AKC Gazette covers. Well-known for his work, Anderson also wrote the article "Ten Keys to Exciting Dog Photography" for the June 1979 issue of the Gazette, an an ode to the canine tongue in April 1980. He lectured widely on the subject of dog photography, including to AKC parent clubs. Shortly before his death, the New City Free Library held an exhibition of his finest portraits -- which also appeared in Dogs Magazine, Top Dobe, The Doberman Quarterly, and several books inlcuding the Roger Caras Dog Book.

Anderson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, where his interest in photography was first developed during high school. He attended Clark University in England and completed his graduate degree at Harvard University. After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he opened a photography studio in New York concentrating on portraiture. He eventually moved his studio to Rockland County and acquired his first dog, a Doberman Pinscher. As his interest in the breed grew he joined the Rockland County Kennel Club in the early 1960s and began photographing the dogs of his fellow members. He served as president of Rockland County and the Doberman Pinscher Club of the Tappan Zee.

In 1981, after the AKC Gazette began to publish its Show Results separately, and could be sold and marketed more readily, Anderson came up with the idea of AKC clubs sponsoring subscriptions for their local libraries. Rockland County Kennel Club sponsored five subscriptions, and the idea spread, bringing the magazine to broader audience.