Robert McCabe was born in Chicago in 1934 and grew up in Rye, New York. His first trip to Greece was in 1954, when he had the chance to experience Greece’s most touristy islands before they became island destinations.
McCabe was known for his humble approach to photography, and has captured humans and landscapes since he was 5 years old. His first camera was a Kodak Baby Brownie.
McCabe’s First Experiences with Greece
A friend from Princeton University gave him his first taste of Greek hospitality, and he was hooked since then. Several years, later, he was assigned to photograph the Cycladic Island for National Geographic in 1955. His most famous photos are of Mykonos and Santorini before they became famous for their white houses, caldera views, and iconic sunsets.
In Robert McCabe’s own words, he says that the beauty of Greece’s architecture and hues has been lost to the idea of “what a cute Greek island village should look like.”
When McCabe first visited the Cycladic islands, he was the only visitor along with his brother. There were no cars and just a couple roads. Cameras were rare at the time, especially in Greece’s villages, so if a photographer like McCabe came up to you, it was a special occasion.
Robert McCabe was known to capture simple scenes from day-to-day life in Greece like restaurants, local stores, fishing boats, and barber shops. McCabe notes that in 1955, Mykonos felt like its own country with “its own dances, cuisine, architecture, and even language.”
McCabe on Change in Greece
McCabe sheds light on the changes which he has seen in the last 50 years, seeing many areas that were once quiet bays now updated with a road, taverna, and beach umbrellas. He argues that foot paths on the Greek islands are now a great way to promote off-season tourism, but that some islands destroy them. McCabe noticed that each island has its own unique subculture of tourism, depending on its “starting point”. The islands were worlds apart in the past, when you could only visit by sailboat. Each had its own architecture, way of building walls, its own songs and dances, and its own poetry. These traditions are expressed in different ways today through the local tourism offerings.
McCabe’s Philanthropy
McCabe has undertaken a number of initiatives that show his support for Greece, including the donation of 35 photographs to the Boston Consulate.
McCabe also bought and restored the Boston home of Samuel Gridley Howe, who battled on the Greek side in 1824 during the Greek War of Independence. Recently, Robert McCabe was granted honorary citizenship in Greece in February 2020.
McCabe’s Exhibits
McCabe has shown his works in London, Paris, Brussels, and on several islands of Greece. His works have reached as far as New York, Boston, and Wyoming. He has also published books which contain a variety of subjects in Greece, Italy, New York, New England, and Antarctica. Currently Mr. McCabe is working on several projects and has published the following books most recently: “Portraits of the Greeks 1954-2017”; “The Greeks and Their Seas”. His newest book is “Santorini: Portrait of a Vanished Era.”
