Robert Striar, D.C. photojournalist, dies at 88

Robert Striar, 88, a Washington photojournalist who chronicled the city’s political, cultural and social history for decades, died Jan. 28 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. He had complications from a broken hip.

The death was confirmed by his daughter Diane Striar.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

Mr. Striar learned photography during Navy service in Europe during World War II before settling in the Washington area. In the late 1940s, he started City News Bureau, a photo-news syndicate that at one time had more than 100 newspaper clients. He ran the company until around 2000.

His images were featured in newspapers, such as The Washington Post, and magazines, including Life. He worked closely with the late Betty Beale, who wrote a society column for the old Washington Star.

He covered presidential inaugurations, funerals of statesmen, the 1963 March on Washington, embassy events and visiting dignitaries. In the 1960s, he and photographer Carlo A. Maggi published a monthly magazine, Washington Illustrated.

Robert Striar, a District resident, was born in Bangor, Maine, and raised in New York’s Bronx and Queens boroughs.

He made ink drawings and developed an interest in wood-burning art. His work was exhibited at the Ratner Museum in Bethesda, among other local galleries.

His wife, Marguerite Minsky, whom he married in 1950, died in 2008. Survivors include three children, Diane Striar of Bethesda, David Striar of Washington and Valerie Striar of Brooklyn, N.Y.; a sister; and three grandchildren.

— Adam Bernstein