Dedicated head museum photographer dies at 55

Michael Cavanagh knew how to capture the soul of a piece of art.

“He was able to take these complicated works of art and turn them into new works of art,” said Linda Baden, associate director of editorial services for the IU Art Museum.

“You might not be as struck by it in the gallery as you are through his photographs.”
The head photographer at the museum died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack.

He was 55.

Cavanagh photographed collections and individual pieces for the museum starting in 1983. His photographs are featured in exhibition catalogues and other art publications worldwide.

Though some might question how much work is involved in photographing art pieces, the process was more complicated and involved than many people understood, Baden said.

“There’s a huge amount of interpretation for a fine art photographer to take pictures of works of art,” she said. “He was always pushing himself to be better.”

From which background color to use to where the light came from, Cavanagh was dedicated to crafting each detail of the photograph. His photographs made the pieces vivid, Baden said, allowing the viewer to almost feel the smoothness of the surface and trace the curves of the stone.

“He made the object look lively and interesting,” Baden said. “You wanted to learn more about it.”

Behind heavy doors and down a stark white hallway on the second floor of the museum is Cavanagh’s studio. 

A tall, bright lamp stands before the large black backdrop where he shot many of his photos. Rows of filing drawers are packed full of transparencies and slides chronicling the history of each piece of art in the museum.

Two dark rooms are reminders of an earlier time when Cavanagh would develop his photographs by hand. When he first started, each photograph was a black-and-white 8-by-10. Color and digital editing crept in during the years he worked at
the museum.

Now, his desk is covered with four different computer monitors for digital editing.
On one end of the desk is a pair of white gloves — he never touched a piece of art with his fingers in case any oil or dirt would rub off.

A caricature drawing, dated 8/13/98 hangs on the wall next to his chair. His two children and a dog grin brightly in cartoon form.

“He was an incredibly dedicated family man,” Baden said. “He loved his family very much.”

Two of Michael’s personal photography exhibitions, “It’s a Boy” and “Windslow,” included photographs of his children and family. His most recent work was a project about people and animals.

“He was fascinated by the everyday kinds of stuff that you don’t always notice,” Baden said.

He was an efficient worker always trying to improve, Balden said. Fellow colleagues sometimes referred to him as the curmudgeon with the heart of gold.

“He was really a sweet, sweet guy,” she said. “He was a very wonderful person.”