Shirley Carter Burden was born in New York City, a descendant of the
famed millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt; he became infatuated with
photography, and after graduating from the Browning School in 1926,
went to work for Pathe News, and subsequently would work in Hollywood
with Merian C. Cooper. After the end of World War II, Burden opened a
photography studio in Beverly Hills that specialized in still shots for
advertising agencies and architectural firms. From there, he expanded
into publishing photo essays concerning various topics including "God
Is My Life", a photo essay about the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Our
Lady of Gethsemani in Tennessee, and "I Wonder Why", which depicted
incidents in a young black girl's life, particularly her dealings with
racial prejudice. His family established the Burden Professorship in
Photography at Harvard University in 1999.
