Max Yavno
				American, 1911-1985
		Website about the artist: no website
			Introduction
			Max Yavno was born in New York City on April 26, 1911. His interest in photography blossomed twenty years later during the mid-1930s during which time he changed careers to devote more time to the darkroom. He further rounded out his skills by joining the Photo League, which enabled him to associate with other artists on a regular basis. He eventually became President of the Photo League in 1938 and 1939. During World War II, Yavno served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a film and photography instructor. After the war, Yavno supported himself, by applying his skills to the field of commercial photography. Hunt's Foods was one of the corporations that hired Yavno to work on its advertising campaigns. In 1954 and 1955, Yavno achieved acclaim by winning the New York Art Directors Gold Medal for two photographs created for the Hunt's Food company. For three decades Yavno channeled his energy and talent entirely into producing work for commercial benefit. Then in 1975, Yavno made an abrupt departure from producing commercial work so as to pursue his own ideas. In 1979 he took a trip to Israel and Egypt where he photographed the country, the people and the sites. He also took trips to Mexico and Morocco. Unfortunately, by the early 80s, his health was failing and in 1985 he passed away.