Peter Bear’s family has confirmed his death, after he disappeared on Long Island on March 31. The police were leading on extensive search and found his body yesterday in Camp Hero State Park in Montauk. Peter Bear was 82 and is said to have dementia. What an extraordinary life he lived! Wildlife photographer on the wild side, he was best-known for his book “The End of the Game” first published in 1965, documenting his love of Africa but also the tragedy of the continent’s imperiled wildlife, in particular the elephant. He later became famous for embellishing his picture prints with ink and blood, and for his profuse collages (started in his diaries when he was a boy). Peter Bear was also of course famous for his highly public private life. Extraordinary handsome and heir to a fortune, he was one of the last adventurers, and was the man that most boys wanted to become. Besides documenting Africa’s vanishing fauna, he photographed the most beautiful women, and had romances with many of them, like Candice Bergen, Lee Radziwill, married supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, and discovered Iman. He was part of the legendary Studio 54 disco “gang”, and was friend with Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Salvator Dali, Jackie Onassis, and Francis Bacon who painted his portrait. He seemed to have so much energy he barely needed to sleep. An artist, a matinee-idol handsome boy, a playboy, an heir, a socialite, a photographer, a naturalist, a writer, an adventurer, a wildlife lover, he was all of that, and more. RIP #peterbeard #rip #theendofthegame #photographer #photography #elephants #adventurer #playboy #wildlife #wildlifephotography #intothewild #africa #cheryltiegs #heir #handsome #extraordinarylife #naturelover #collages #diaries #francisbacon #studio54 #trumancapote #andywarhol
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