Andrew Quilty is a 40-year-old Australian photojournalist acclaimed for his work in Afghanistan.
He started his photography career in 2000 when his application to a university photo elective was rejected, so he picked up a Nikon F3 his uncle had passed down along with a surfboard and set off to explore Australia. Sadly, a week into the trip, his van was broken, and someone stole all of his possessions.
| 40 |
| $1.5 Million |
| Photojournalist |
| Australian |
| Six |
The theft led to him joining a TAFE photography course, which he graduated in 2004, starting from a vocational course like TAFE; he built his career by joining an informal internship at Fairfax media, one of the most popular media companies in Australia and New Zealand. His top-notch work made it so that Fairfax changed his informal internship into a full-time job.
He left Fairfax in 2010, became a freelance photographer in Sydney, and eventually moved to New York.
However, on a trip to Afghanistan and the middle east in 2013, Quilty ended up staying there because he stated that he discovered a proper purpose and fulfillment in his work in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Quilty is permanently based in Kabul and has stated that he does not see himself as fulfilled elsewhere.
Andrew Quilty’s Wife – Is He In A Relationship With Anyone?
Andrew Quilty is not currently married or dating anyone but has never been public about that information.
Whenever fans have asked him about a wife, or any possibility of him dating, Quilty has always shied away from such questions. Then again, given the nature of his profession, romance might be the last thing on his mind.
He travels extensively across Afghanistan to capture life in every inch and corner of the country. Quilty uses social media and photo journals on various websites to track and share his adventures around the country.
He has been credited with opening up the eyes of the larger world to Afghanistan. His pictures are high quality and highly reputed, and the writings that accompany these pictures are seen as top class as well.
In these writings, Quilty shares what he does daily and reflects on his unique positions. These musings are often poetic, highly reverent, but most apparently, respectful of where he is and what he is doing.
The awe he feels is palpable, and many people are fans of his writings as much as his pictures.
Is Andrew Quilty Related To Ben Quilty?
Yes, Andrew Quilty is related to acclaimed Australian artist Ben Quilty.
He and Ben are cousins and are very close to each other. Ben often shares how they inspire each other with their respective crafts, especially how their debates about any topic, in general, encourage him to create something.
Ben is as acclaimed as Andrew and has won several painting prizes, such as the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, the 2011 Archibald Prize, and the 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. Ben has widely been described as the most famous living artist in Australia.
Sadly, with such fame comes a burden, and Ben has described this burden well to the media. The disadvantage, of course, is his all-importantness that he sometimes feels him back.
Whenever Ben feels such a way, Andrew is always there to help him; in a recent interview, Ben stated that they’ve been discussing this topic a lot.
Ben worries about his cousin in Kabul and postulates that Andrew could be telling the stories he does from Australia. Still, Andrew’s refusal and adamant choice to stay in Afghanistan for his craft, in turn, inspires Ben.
Andrew Quilty Siblings, Does He Have A Brother?
Andrew Quilty has no siblings but is close to his cousin Ben like a brother.
His family life has been driven by a sort of artistic baton-passing race between him and his older cousin Ben. Ben started first and has become the most important living artist in Australia, and Andrew, not to be outdone, has become an equally important photojournalist.
Andrew Quilty’s awards speak for himself, and he has been recognized with many of them. The most notable is the Gold Walkley, a significant Australian journalism award he was awarded in 2016.
He was awarded the Gold Walkley in recognition of a photograph of hospital patient Baynazar Mohammed Nazar, called “The Man on the Operating Table.” The photo shows Nazar lying on an operating table in the Medecins Sans Frontieres Kunduz Trauma Centre following the 2015 American Airstrike that killed 42 and injured 30 people.
He spent much of his career covering the American military’s time in Afghanistan, and his first book, August in Kabul: America’s last days in Afghanistan, was published this year.