I can't discuss the talent of Wingate Paine without referencing this disparagement of his work in a very recent Sam Haskins blog at this link. Neither Sam, nor Wingate, is no longer with us and can't speak for themselves. It's my opinion that the matter should be laid to rest, so I'll add my two cents and speak for the silent Wingate Paine. There is no plagiarism that I can see. Only copyright infringement is actionable in U.S. federal court. As an art director I would note only that some of Paine's photos are an hommage to Haskin's. That they both loved to pose young women is evident. With precious few exceptions, we can't help but be influenced by our peers.
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled, 1964-1965
Wingate Paine, Untitled 1964-1965
For more photos of Wingate Paine, please link to the Steven Kasher Gallery.
Wingate Paine, a Mayflower descendant, was born in 1915 to a New England family of lawyers, clergy and bankers. He was a talented photographer, a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, and a devotee of Hatha Yoga. He was a spiritual teacher and author of: Tilling the Soul (Santa Fe: Aurora Press, 1984), and The Book of Surrender (New York: Prentice Hall, 1987). He departed this life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1987.
He left a lucrative career as an advertising photographer to concentrate on his book of photos, Mirror of Venus (Random House, 1966) printed in four languages and ten editions. Many of the photographs above were pages in this book.